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About Hannah Bracamonte

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So far Hannah Bracamonte has created 638 blog entries.

DPC Urges Medicare to Add Resources for Health Equity

2024-03-29T01:10:13+00:00August 19th, 2021|Categories: Comment Letter, Improve Access to Care, Medicare Advantage, Quality Incentive Program|

DPC has filed its letter commenting on this year’s Medicare ESRD Proposed Rule, which governs payments to dialysis facilities. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) heralded this year’s payment rules as undertaking new initiatives to reduce health disparities. DPC’s letter critiques these initiatives as insufficient and endorses alternative approaches. CMS is proposing to collect new data on racial disparities, and to stratify quality measures so that facilities serving disadvantaged patients no longer receive QIP payment reductions simply because patients are poor. DPC endorses these moves, but points to recent calls by experts to address disparities by supplementing payments to [...]

Action Alert – Support Care Coordination for Dialysis Patients

2024-03-29T01:10:13+00:00August 16th, 2021|Categories: Article, Care Coordination, Improve Access to Care, Take Action|

The BETTER Kidney Care Act (H.R. 4942/S. 2649) was reintroduced by Senators Young (R-IN) and Sinema (D-AZ), along with Representatives Blumenauer (D-OR), Butterfield (D-N), and Cardenas (D-CA). This bill would enhance access to care coordination services for thousands of patients across the United States currently living with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). It could also help with services not covered by Medicare such as dental care and transportation. Coordinated care is essential for improving the overall care and health of ESRD patients. Specifically, better care coordination could mean help for patients with: scheduling doctors’ appointments, reviewing their medication regime, dealing with dialysis [...]

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Medigap Bill A Welcome Change for Mississippi Dialysis Patients

2024-03-29T01:10:14+00:00August 12th, 2021|Categories: Patient Ambassadors, Patient Stories in the News, Spotlight|

Kristal pictured with her husband, Ernest Higgins. Photo by Cameron B. Potts My kidney transplant failing in 2017 changed my life. I went back on dialysis for the first time since 2012 and was spending more time in the hospital than I had before. Then, I lost my job and the insurance coverage it provided, and I had to go back on Medicare, which didn’t cover the whole cost of dialysis and forced me to pay up to 20 percent of the cost of my treatments. I’m not alone, either. Dialysis patients all over the country struggle to [...]

LETTER: Medigap Expansion is Needed

2024-03-29T01:10:14+00:00August 11th, 2021|Categories: Patient Stories in the News|

To the editor: As someone who has been on dialysis for 23 years, educating other patients and advocating for them gives my job meaning. I get to assist people who have gone through the same challenges I have and help people better understand exactly what life on dialysis is like. Through my work, I’ve seen how many patients struggle with high costs. A lot of patients rely on Medicare, but can have considerable out-of-pocket costs when it doesn’t cover what they need. This is especially true for patients under 65, who often don’t receive Medigap coverage for those costs that [...]

Medigap Expansion Bill Vital to Making Treatments Affordable

2024-03-29T01:10:14+00:00July 29th, 2021|Categories: Patient Stories in the News, Spotlight|

Something felt a little off after my daughter was born. I started feeling more exhausted each day after work, and at one point one of my elementary school students even pointed out that I didn’t look well. I had always been perfectly healthy, so I never expected that I’d be diagnosed with kidney disease. But, after a referral to Johns Hopkins for care, doctors started me on dialysis right away. That’s when my long, difficult road with kidney disease began. Shortly after starting dialysis treatments – despite receiving the best care possible – I fell into a 31-day coma that [...]

Letter to the Editor: Kidney disease patients are in need of new Medigap Expansion bill

2024-03-29T01:10:14+00:00July 28th, 2021|Categories: Patient Ambassadors, Patient Stories in the News|

As a kid, I remember watching my dad receive his dialysis treatments at home. Kidney disease runs in my family, and tragically it has taken not only my dad’s life, but many others in my family before their time. I received my own kidney disease diagnosis almost 20 years ago. Medical costs are rising and continue to rise for kidney patients, and it is a challenge to overcome the obstacles of what insurance does not cover. However, Medicare doesn’t always cover the cost of care for kidney disease patients under the age of 65, and many people can’t afford to pay [...]

Bill helps kidney patients get needed coverage

2024-03-29T01:10:14+00:00July 21st, 2021|Categories: Patient Stories in the News|

Starting dialysis in 2016 showed me there are a lot of challenges patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) face. There are major lifestyle differences, and treatments take several hours multiple days each week. While I can do these treatments from home at night, lots of other patients need to make trips to their local clinics, which takes an exhausting toll. One of the biggest challenges for many patients, though, is the cost of the treatments and medications. Over time, those costs get overwhelming and can force patients and families to make difficult decisions that they should never have to worry [...]

It Works When We Work Together – 2021 State Legislature Recap

2024-03-29T01:10:14+00:00July 19th, 2021|Categories: Advance Patient Choice, Article, Medigap Coverage, State Advocacy, Transplant Donor Protection|

Nearly two years ago, DPC expanded its advocacy footprint to establish a state advocacy program to complement our ongoing federal efforts and in response to states increasing their role in health care policy and the delivery system which impacts dialysis patients’ access to quality care. While Congress continues its work through the remainder of 2021, a majority of state legislatures have already adjourned for this calendar year. Forty-six (46) state legislatures hold annual regular sessions and four states (MT, ND, NV and TX) hold biennial regular sessions, meeting every other year. Working with a number of our Patient Ambassadors throughout [...]

Kidney patients need Medigap expansion

2024-03-29T01:10:14+00:00July 16th, 2021|Categories: Patient Stories in the News|

While my husband was on dialysis, and even since his kidney transplant, getting affordable coverage has felt impossible. If Medicare doesn’t cover something, we have to scramble to afford it, which was a massive challenge given his dialysis treatments got up to $15,000 and medications can cost $3,000 each month. This shouldn’t happen. We need lawmakers to pass bills that make coverage more accessible for patients, like the Jack Reynolds Memorial Medigap Expansion Act. It would help make Medigap coverage more accessible to dialysis patients under 65, so they don’t go through what my husband and I have. Patients can’t [...]

Letter: Congress should expand Medigap coverage

2024-03-29T01:10:14+00:00July 15th, 2021|Categories: Patient Stories in the News|

For a lot of patients, starting dialysis means not being able to work anymore. Thankfully, with my job I can work from home when I’m doing my treatments, which has been hugely beneficial in helping me stay employed and get the coverage I need. The situation is very different for a lot of other patients, though, who can’t continue to work and get coverage. Instead, they rely solely on Medicare, which means if Medicare doesn’t fully cover a treatment or medication, they pay big out-of-pocket costs. That’s why we need Congress to pass bills like the Jack Reynolds Memorial Medigap [...]

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