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About Hannah Bracamonte

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So far Hannah Bracamonte has created 630 blog entries.

DPC Elevates Patient Advocacy Work to State Lawmakers

2024-03-29T01:09:16+00:00August 17th, 2023|Categories: Article, Medigap Coverage, Policy Issues, State Advocacy|

Over August 14 – 16, 2023, Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) spent time advocating for dialysis patients at the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Annual Legislative Summit, held in Indianapolis, Indiana. Yolanda Brisbane, Grassroots Manager and State Advocacy Directors, Elizabeth Lively and Pamela Zielske spoke with lawmakers from across the nation about issues that impact dialysis patients. With more than 6,000 legislators and staff in attendance, the NCSL conference was a tremendous opportunity to elevate our advocacy work with state policymakers. Conversations also extended to delegations from around the globe, as attendees from South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Portugal, India, Brazil, Germany, [...]

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OP-ED Calls for equal Medigap coverage for all Medicare Enrollees

2024-03-29T01:09:16+00:00August 8th, 2023|Categories: Article, Medigap Coverage|

In a compelling opinion piece authored by Rich Sutphin, Executive Director of the West Virginia Rural Health Association, the call was made to West Virginia policymakers to ensure that their constituents were treated equally regarding access to affordable Medicare Supplement (Medigap) insurance coverage. The opinion piece was picked up by newspapers across the state, including The Herald Dispatch, The Weston Democrat, Mineral News and Tribune, The Jackson Star and Herald, The Wayne County News, The Preston County News and Journal and the West Virginia Press Association. You can read the op-ed here: https://wvpress.org/wvpa-sharing/opinion-west-virginia-kidney-patients-deserve-access-to-care-at-any-age/ DPC invites you to share your story in [...]

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Affordable Medigap Access Now Available in Rhode Island, Kentucky and Virginia Coming Soon!

2024-03-29T01:09:16+00:00July 25th, 2023|Categories: Article, Medigap Coverage, News, Patient Ambassadors, State Advocacy|

During 2022 and 2023, DPC worked tirelessly to secure passage of legislation providing access to affordable Medigap coverage for under age 65 kidney failure patients living in three states. Those states – Kentucky, Rhode Island and Virginia, are creating regulations to implement the new state laws. The law in Rhode Island became effective July 1, 2023. In Kentucky and Virginia, the laws passed this year become effective January 1, 2024. If you live in one of these states and are not yet age 65, check with your dialysis facility finance or social workers to learn more about the Medigap Plans being [...]

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Local View: Bridging the Medigap

2024-03-29T01:09:17+00:00July 18th, 2023|Categories: Medigap Coverage, Patient Stories in the News, Private Insurance Coverage|

Published in the Lincoln Journal Star We hear endless stories in the news about challenges in our health care system, but oftentimes the effects feel abstract. As someone who has dedicated their career to improving the medical care and outcomes of patients with kidney disease through transplantation, I’ve seen firsthand how devastating kidney failure can be, particularly for Nebraskans who don’t have adequate health coverage. While the situation is grave, our neighboring states have shown how state governments can provide life-saving relief. We would be wise to follow their lead. More than 3,000 Cornhuskers are living with kidney failure, and [...]

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Medicare Payment Rule for 2024 Shortchanges Dialysis Clinics on Rising Wages

2024-03-29T01:09:17+00:00July 6th, 2023|Categories: Article, Dialysis Funding, Promote Financial Security|

As kidney and other healthcare providers face workforce shortages, inflation, and higher wage demands, the federal agency which oversees Medicare is proposing a mere 1.7% increase in dialysis reimbursements for 2024. According to the government’s own Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), wages and salaries increased 5.0% during the last year and increased 4.7% the year before; after insufficient updates over the past two years, Medicare payments are falling far behind the actual costs for clinic staff, potentially threatening patient access to care. Unlike updates to Social Security checks, which are determined by BLS inflation data, Medicare uses “forecasts” of future inflation. [...]

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Dialysis Patient Citizens Statement on New CMS Rule That Would Harm Patient Access to Care

2024-03-29T01:09:17+00:00June 29th, 2023|Categories: Dialysis Funding, News, Press Release|

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 29, 2023) -- Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC), the nation's largest dialysis patient advocacy organization, released the following statement regarding a new rule proposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that would only increase reimbursement for dialysis treatments by 1.6% in calendar year 2024, while also falling short in funding access to new therapies. "This proposed rule sends a clear and unfortunate message that CMS does not prioritize access to care for kidney disease patients like me," said Andrew Conkling, DPC's Board Chair and a lifelong kidney patient. "Dialysis patients are already some of the most vulnerable Americans, and [...]

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Nebraska resident rallies for LB-32

2024-03-29T01:09:17+00:00June 21st, 2023|Categories: Patient Stories in the News, Private Insurance Coverage|

NEBRASKA -- Fifteen states do not require insurers to offer Medigap policies to people under 65 who are already enrolled through Medicare according to AARP. Medigap helps patients to afford deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs with policies such as Medicare Part B. However, Nebraska is one of those states that doesn't require it to be offered, to the shock of one North Platte resident named Jean Kay battling multiple sclerosis. "It was mind-boggling," said Kay. Jean Kay has been living with MS for over 20 years. Back in 2018, she was denied supplemental insurance due to her age of 61, [...]

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I Received a Kidney Transplant, but Concerns about Coverage Remain

2024-03-29T01:09:17+00:00June 20th, 2023|Categories: Blog, Medigap Coverage, Patient Ambassadors, Patient's Voice, Private Insurance Coverage|

Ruben Garcia, Webster, Texas After years on dialysis, I was fortunate to receive a kidney transplant. While I am grateful to be off dialysis, its emotional and financial burdens will take years to recover from. When I started dialysis I had no private insurance and was 100% reliant on Medicare. Medicare, however, only covers 80 percent of each treatment. I couldn’t afford to pay out of pocket, but what choice did I have? I couldn’t live without these treatments. Medicare also does not cover all costs of kidney transplants and the medications needed afterward. Going through dialysis while wondering [...]

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Dialysis Patient Citizens Mourns the Loss of Terry Peeler

2024-03-29T01:09:17+00:00June 1st, 2023|Categories: Article, Board Members, Medigap Coverage|

It is with a heavy heart that Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) Board, staff, and volunteers learned of the passing of one of our Board Members, Terry Peeler. Terry was the first African American full-time Fire Chief and paramedic in Sumter County, Alabama, appointed in the year 2000. He proudly served as a firefighter and paramedic for the City of Livingston, Alabama. He was also elected Sumter County Coroner in 1999, a position he had been re-elected to. In October of 2016, Terry was diagnosed with end stage kidney disease and had to start dialysis, which meant retiring from his career as [...]

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Lawmakers Come Together to Help Transplant Patients

2024-03-29T01:09:17+00:00May 25th, 2023|Categories: Access to Transplant, Advance Patient Choice, Article|

Earlier this week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee marked up and unanimously passed H.R. 2544 - The Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Act.  This bill was introduced by Rep. Bucshon (R-IN) and Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL) and Senator Grassley (R-IA) and Chairman Wyden (D-OR) and would improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the organ transplantation process. The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) has held a monopoly over the contract to manage organ distribution since 1984. Recent reports have raised concerns about how this monopoly affects the national Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN). This legislation [...]

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