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About Hannah Bracamonte

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So far Hannah Bracamonte has created 605 blog entries.

November’s Patient Ambassador Call: The Impact of the 2018 Election on Dialysis Patients

2024-03-29T01:13:37+00:00October 5th, 2018|Categories: Article, Get Involved, Take Action|

Get the inside scoop about what the results of this year’s election mean for you as a dialysis patient. In addition, find out what you can do after the election to ensure your access to care is not compromised. Join our Patient Ambassador call on Tuesday, November 13 at 3:00PM Eastern for more information. What is a Patient Ambassador? A Patient Ambassador is a person with kidney disease or family member who volunteers to represent DPC by being a leader in their community and local dialysis facility. One of your primary responsibilities will be to provide dialysis patients with the education, [...]

California Governor Vetoes Bill After Dialysis Patients Raise Concerns

2024-03-29T01:13:37+00:00October 1st, 2018|Categories: Article, Improve Access to Care, State Advocacy|

Thanks to the help of many dialysis patients and advocates, California Governor Jerry Brown vetoed Senate Bill 1156. Senate Bill 1156 is one of the many policy issues impacting dialysis patients that DPC worked on this year. In 2018 alone, DPC and its advocates sent over 55,000 emails to lawmakers expressing concerns about the bill. In addition, with the help of local patients, DPC met with over 40 lawmakers in California to speak about the negative impact this bill would have on individuals receiving dialysis treatment. DPC expresses its sincerest gratitude to the thousands of patients and advocates that worked [...]

DPC Comments on Threat to Vascular Access Centers

2024-03-29T01:13:38+00:00September 19th, 2018|Categories: Article, Comment Letter, Dialysis Funding, Improve Access to Care|

The Centers for Medicaid Services (CMS) is proposing to cut reimbursement for vascular access centers. This could negatively impact dialysis patents’ access to care, which is why we have weighed in on this important issue. Dialysis Access and Fistulas People with kidney failure need to have a dialysis access placed in order to receive live-saving dialysis treatments. Vascular surgeons create and maintain arteriovenous fistulas, which is a type of dialysis access. Fistulas are important for individuals on dialysis as they are considered a best practice in kidney care, improve patient outcomes and reduce the risk of infection. Read DPC’s comment letter [...]

Congressional Update Call This Thursday

2024-03-29T01:13:38+00:00September 14th, 2018|Categories: Article, Get Involved|

We would like to help you become more involved in dialysis patient advocacy by inviting you to attend our patient ambassador call this Thursday to get an update from Washington, D.C., learn more about our patient ambassador program and learn about our other advocacy opportunities. If you are already one of our patient ambassadors, we look forward to hearing from you and hope you are able to join! Join us Thursday, September 20 at 3:00 PM Eastern for an important and exciting update from Washington, DC. Tune in to learn what is currently going on in Congress and to hear about [...]

US Department of Labor Protects Living Organ Donors

2024-03-29T01:13:38+00:00September 5th, 2018|Categories: Article, Transplant Donor Protection|

The US Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division published an opinion letter last week stating that surgery for people who donate an organ qualifies as a “serious health condition” under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The letter may provide reassurance to individuals that are considering donating a kidney, but are concerned about losing their jobs due to being away for surgery or post-surgery care. About the Family and Medical Leave Act The FMLA allows “eligible employees of covered employers” the ability to take 12 workweeks of unpaid leave during a 12-month period for certain family and medical [...]

CALL TO ACTION – Contact California Governor to Oppose SB 1156

2024-03-29T01:13:38+00:00September 3rd, 2018|Categories: Article, Dialysis Funding, State Advocacy|

Last week, the California Assembly voted in favor of passing Senate Bill 1156. If this bill is enacted into law, many dialysis facilities will face potential closure leaving patients to: Scramble to find new dialysis facilities for their treatment 3 times a week and Potentially travel much farther to receive their life-saving treatments Senate Bill 1156 has now moved onto the desk of California Governor Jerry Brown, who has until the end of September to act on the bill. This is your last chance to prevent this bill from becoming law.  If you live in California, we urge you to [...]

DPC Comments on Annual Medicare ESRD Rule

2024-03-29T01:13:38+00:00August 29th, 2018|Categories: Comment Letter, Innovation, Quality Incentive Program|

Dialysis Patient Citizens sent its comment letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) expressing concerns and providing feedback on its End-Stage Renal Disease Prospective Payment System and Quality Incentive Program proposed payment rule (CMS-1691-P). The letter was informed by results from Dialysis Patient Citizen’s 2018 membership survey and focused on the following areas: Quality incentive program and the meaningful measures framework Transitional drug add-on payment adjustment and payments to reward innovation Request for information on price transparency Our hope is that by addressing these important topics, CMS will make amendments to the rule that will ultimately lead [...]

DPC Supports Improved Access to Private Insurance for Patients

2024-03-29T01:13:38+00:00August 22nd, 2018|Categories: Access to Transplant, Article, Comment Letter, Dental Coverage, Private Insurance Coverage|Tags: |

Currently, dialysis patients are restricted to 30 months on private insurance coverage before having to go into Medicare. The House of Representatives recently proposed extending this length of time by three months, which is estimated to save Medicare $344 million. Access to private insurance is critical for dialysis patients, and we are very appreciative of the House’s efforts to improve that access. Read our letter below in support of this proposal: Dear Leader McConnell, Minority Leader Schumer, Chairman Hatch, and Ranking Member Wyden: As America’s largest patient-led kidney disease organization representing over 30,000 dialysis patients and family members, Dialysis Patient [...]

Action Needed for Potential Senate Bill 1156 Vote on Monday

2024-03-29T01:13:38+00:00August 15th, 2018|Categories: Article, Charitable Premium Assistance, Dialysis Funding, State Advocacy, Take Action|

Dialysis Patient Citizens is requesting your support of kidney failure patients by urging your legislator to oppose Senate Bill 1156 (Leyva). If this bill is enacted into law, many dialysis facilities will face potential closure leaving patients to: Scramble to find new dialysis facilities for their treatment 3 times a week and Potentially travel much farther to receive their life-saving treatments Your support is critical in ensuring lawmakers are educated and reminded about the struggles patients with kidney disease will face if this bill is passed. The full California Assembly could vote on this measure as early as Monday. Help [...]

Elevate the Voice of Patients with Kidney Disease

2024-03-29T01:13:38+00:00July 27th, 2018|Categories: Article, Get Involved|

Our 2018 Annual Membership Survey is live, and it will remain open until Friday, August 10. This survey takes your input as a patient with kidney disease and helps to shape our public policy agenda and patient education priorities for the next year. In addition to determining Dialysis Patient Citizen's priorities, we regularly communicate survey results to state and federal level policy makers, so they will better understand your needs, experiences, and preferences. As a result, your feedback is crucial. Therefore, this year we will be awarding $100 gift certificates to 10 randomly selected survey participants. We hope you will take a [...]

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