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About Hannah Bracamonte

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So far Hannah Bracamonte has created 605 blog entries.

Elevating Dialysis Patient Voices Bolsters State Advocacy Victories

2024-03-29T01:10:08+00:00April 27th, 2022|Categories: Access to Transplant, Article, Medicaid, Medicare Advantage, Medigap Coverage|

As many 2022 state legislative sessions are winding down or have recently wrapped-up, it is a good time to update DPC members on state legislation important to dialysis patients. The participation of our Patient Ambassadors in DPC’s advocacy efforts has been really beneficial in educating legislators to help them make more-informed decisions on legislation that impacts End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) patients. Improving access to affordable Medicare Supplemental Insurance (a.k.a., Medigap) plans is a top priority for DPC, and legislation was introduced in multiple states: Arizona, Kentucky, Louisiana, Nebraska, Maryland, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin. Arizona, Kentucky, Nebraska, and [...]

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DPC’s Letter to Daniel Tsai, Deputy Administrator and Director of CMCS

2024-03-29T01:10:08+00:00April 21st, 2022|Categories: Medicaid, Medicare Advantage, Medigap Coverage|

Daniel Tsai, Deputy Administrator, and Director Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 7500 Security Boulevard Baltimore, MD  21244 Re:       Eligibility Redeterminations for Enrollees with Chronic Health Conditions Dear Mr. Tsai: When the Public Health Emergency ends and states resume making Medicaid eligibility redeterminations, up to 15 million enrollees are expected to lose their coverage. We are concerned that as many as one-quarter of those individuals may be receiving treatment for  chronic diseases, and that treatment might be interrupted by a lapse in insurance coverage. We are asking that CMS and the states make a special [...]

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DPC Urges Continuity of Care for Medicaid Enrollees with Chronic Health Conditions When Eligibility Redeterminations Resume

2024-03-29T01:10:08+00:00April 21st, 2022|Categories: Article, Medicaid, Protect Patient Care|

Two years ago, Congress mandated a pause on Medicaid eligibility redeterminations during the COVID Public Health Emergency. The emergency declaration is expected to end soon, and states will again require Medicaid enrollees prove their eligibility. As many as 15 million enrollees are expected to lose their coverage, mostly because they have accepted higher-paying jobs, but others may slip through the cracks due to address changes and the like. DPC has written to the federal Medicaid director asking that CMS and the states make a special effort to ensure continuity of coverage for patients with chronic diseases, such as CKD, hypertension, and [...]

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Guest: National Kidney Month provides reminder of cost hurdles for dialysis patients

2024-03-29T01:10:08+00:00March 30th, 2022|Categories: Medigap Coverage, Patient Stories in the News|

The month of March marks National Kidney Month in the U.S., an opportunity to bring awareness to something that affects more than one in seven adults, and a chance to reflect on the struggles kidney patients across the U.S. face every day. Currently, kidney patients face an uneven playing field, and a lot still needs to be accomplished in order to ensure that all patients have access to the care they need. It’s an unlevel field that I’ve been operating on for most of my life. I was born with only one functioning kidney, meaning I knew early on that I [...]

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Support S 2194

2024-03-29T01:10:08+00:00March 28th, 2022|Categories: Patient Ambassadors, Patient Stories in the News, Spotlight|

March 28, 2022 The Honorable Joshua Miller, Chair The Honorable Bridgett G. Valverde, Vice Chair The Honorable Valarie J. Lawson, Secretary Members, Senate Health and Human Services Committee Rhode Island General Assembly RE: Support S 2194 Dear Chair Miller, Vice Chair Valverde, Secretary Lawson, Members of the Committee: As a kidney dialysis patient residing in Woonsocket, a volunteer Patient Ambassador of Dialysis Patient Citizens and on behalf of the more than 1,800(i) fellow Rhode Island residents with End State Renal Disease (ESRD), I write to ask your support of S 2194, which will provide access to fair and equitable Medicare [...]

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DPC’s Letter to Dr. Meena Seshamani, Deputy Administrator and Director for CMS

2024-03-29T01:10:09+00:00March 7th, 2022|Categories: Comment Letter, Increase Quality of Care, Policy Issues, Protect Patient Care|

March 7, 2022 Dr. Meena Seshamani Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 7500 Security Boulevard Baltimore, MD  21244 Re:      Dialysis Workforce Issues Dear Dr. Seshamani: We are writing to express our concerns about shortages of labor and supplies that are causing disruptions in dialysis treatments. We urge CMS and its sister operating divisions in HHS to develop plans for health care workforce generally and dialysis workforce in particular; and to make whatever adjustments are necessary to Medicare payment policy necessary to assure patients’ access to care. To the best of our recollection, the U.S. is experiencing a tight labor market [...]

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DPC Urges Medicare Officials to Take Action on Dialysis Workforce Shortages

2024-03-29T01:10:09+00:00March 7th, 2022|Categories: Article, Comment Letter, Improve Access to Care, Increase Quality of Care, Medicare Advantage|

DPC has written to top Medicare officials asking that they develop policy options to address the current labor shortage. The letter notes that the lengthy rulemaking process used to update payments to healthcare providers is ill-suited to react to urgent changes in the labor market. Fourteen years ago, the prestigious Institute of Medicine warned that as Americans aged, there would be fewer workers to take care of more elderly and disabled individuals. DPC’s letter urges officials to take another look at the report, which recommended “wage pass through” components of provider payments to address rising wages and delegating more responsibilities to [...]

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Final ESCO Evaluation Documents Care Coordination Success Story

2024-03-29T01:10:09+00:00March 2nd, 2022|Categories: Article, Increase Quality of Care, Medicare Advantage, Protect Patient Care|

Medicare’s Comprehensive ESRD Care Model was designed to identify, test, and evaluate new ways to improve care for End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) patients. It established ESRD Seamless Care Organizations (ESCOs) that brought dialysis clinics and nephrologists together to coordinate patients’ kidney- and non-kidney care. This demonstration project ended last year and was replaced by a similar one this year. The Medicare Innovation Center has released the final evaluation report for the ESCOs. Overall, the ESCOs showed modest but statistically significant results over the five performance years, reducing Medicare expenditures. The number of hospitalizations decreased 3% and the percent of beneficiaries with [...]

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HB 430 – Letter of Support

2024-03-29T01:10:09+00:00February 28th, 2022|Categories: Patient Ambassadors, Patient Stories in the News, Spotlight|

February 28, 2022 The Honorable Bart Rowland, Chair The Honorable Derek Lewis, Vice Chair House Banking & Insurance Committee Kentucky General Assembly 700 Capitol Avenue Frankfort, KY 40601 RE: HB 430 - SUPPORT Dear Chair Rowland, Vice Chair Lewis and Members of the Committee: My name is James O. “Hap” Strunk. I am a resident of Whitley City, serve as Chairman of the Kentucky Board of Embalmers & Funeral Directors, and also one of the more than 9,000 (i) Kentuckians with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). From my volunteer role as a Patient Ambassador for Dialysis Patient Citizens, I write [...]

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Don’t Forget to Apply for DPC’s 2022 Advocacy Day!

2024-03-29T01:10:09+00:00February 22nd, 2022|Categories: Advance Patient Choice, Improve Access to Care, Increase Quality of Care, News, Promote Financial Security, Protect Patient Care, Take Action|

DPC is pleased to invite you to apply for our 2022 Advocacy Day. Please apply by February 25th. Each year, Dialysis Patient Citizens is excited to host a Congressional Advocacy Day for kidney patients and transplant recipients to meet with their federal legislators and talk about issues that affect their quality of care. Historically, our members have come to Washington, D.C., to meet with their Congressional Members in person. However, we are conducting a virtual "fly-in" in 2022 due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic in order to ensure the safety of our participants. We will be hosting our Congressional Advocacy Day [...]

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