Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) works hard to promote financial security as financial hardships are common for many people with end-stage renal disease. Congress has introduced a bill that would decrease the financial burden experienced by many dialysis patients and improve their access to care.
The bill—known as the Chronic Kidney Disease Improvement in Research and Treatment Act of 2019 (S. 1676/ H.R. 3912)—would amend current law to ensure ESRD patients under the age of 65 have access to Medigap plans. Without a supplemental insurance like Medigap, Medicare patients bear significant out-of-pocket expenses for physician visits, hospital admissions, and other services they need to stay alive.
Medicare has no out-of-pocket limit, unlike private insurance, and because ESRD patients under age 65 are prohibited in about half of all states from buying Medigap coverage, they have unlimited liability in those states for the 20 percent of costs not covered by Medicare.
In 2013, 61 percent of Medicare beneficiaries with ESRD were under age 65, and only 11 percent had Medigap coverage.
Please help dialysis patients by encouraging your Members of Congress to support this important legislation and signing on as cosponsors.
