KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Eight nearly new kidney dialysis clinics are mostly unused because the state is more than two years behind inspecting and certifying for the clinics.

And another four clinics are waiting to expand because they are waiting for state inspections.

The Kansas City Star reports federal funding for inspectors was reduced in recent years and Kansas has not made up the difference. That’s caused turnover in the health facility inspection force. The backlog for new dialysis centers are by federal law a lower priority than inspections of other types of facilities and existing dialysis centers with problems.

The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services contracts with state health departments to do the inspections. Without inspections, dialysis centers can’t bill Medicare, which covers 85 percent of Americans in kidney failure.