It took me two doctors’ visits to get a liver transplant. It was a fairly seamless process all things considered, but the medications eventually cost me my only kidney and forced me onto dialysis.
Getting a kidney transplant couldn’t be more different, Just getting on the list feels like I’m running in circles, with constant tests and never any progress or solution. I’ve spent years on dialysis, which has changed my life drastically and even cost me a job I loved because I couldn’t travel as much anymore. Dialysis isn’t just difficult because of the long hours in the chair, though. The costs are high and for people like me who are on a fixed income and can’t go back to work, it is simply too much. It’s time for lawmakers to help.
We need Congress to pass the Jack Reynolds Memorial Medigap Expansion Act, which would open Medigap coverage to dialysis patients who are under 65. A lot of patients don’t have coverage beyond what is paid for by Medicare, so it would be a welcome and much-needed step toward making life on dialysis more affordable.
I’ve done everything I can to get a kidney transplant, and while I wait for that day to finally arrive, I hope Representatives Troy Niehls, Brian Babin, Randy Weber, and all of Texas’ other members of Congress support this important bill.
Rubin Garcia, Webster, Texas
