DPC Assists Grassroots Efforts to Secure Level Medicaid Funding in Alabama
DPC has been hard at work on the state level fighting to ensure continued access to quality patient care, most recently in Alabama and North Carolina. In Alabama, patients fought to maintain Medicaid funding for outpatient dialysis, which the state was considering moving to local hospitals instead, in a potential effort to close the state budget shortfall. Patient advocates quickly took action and contacted their state legislators to encourage alternative revenue generating measures to close the budget gap as opposed to eliminating Medicaid funding. Thankfully, the state legislature responded by passing a budget with new revenue generating policies. The potential [...]
Joint Letter to Committees on Part B Premiums and Deductibles
Dear Chairman Hatch, Senator Wyden, Chairman Ryan, Congressman Levin, Chairman Upton & Congressman Pallone: The undersigned organizations share a commitment to advancing the health and economic security of older adults, people with disabilities, and their families. We are writing to urge you to advance a solution to mitigate projected increases to Medicare Part B premiums and the Part B deductible in 2016. According to the 2015 Medicare Trustees Report, Part B premiums will increase by 52%—up to $159.30 per month from $104.90—for 30% of beneficiaries. The trustees also predict that this increase will be accompanied by a hike in the [...]
Re: Essential Health Benefits – 2017 Benchmark Plans
Hon. Kevin Counihan Center for Consumer and Information and Insurance Oversight Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hubert H. Humphrey Building 200 Independence Ave, SW Washington, D.C. 20201 Re: Essential Health Benefits - 2017 Benchmark Plans Dear Deputy Director Counihan: Dialysis Patient Citizens, America’s largest patient-led organization representing dialysis patients, is comprised of more than 28,000 dialysis and pre-dialysis patients and their families. We seek to ensure the patient point of view is considered by policy makers. We are writing to comment on the Agency’s List of Proposed 2017 Essential Health Benefits (EHB) Benchmark Plans. States have four options for [...]
Letter to Oregon Insurance Commissioner Emphasizes Importance of Private Insurance
Regence and Moda, two private insurance plans in Oregon, recently made changes to their 2016 plans that would negatively affect ESRD patients. Specifically, after three months of coverage, any out-of-pocket payments patients make for dialysis treatment will no longer count towards their out-of-pocket maximums. This appears to be an effort to pressure dialysis patients to drop their private coverage and enroll in Medicare. DPC’s letter to the Oregon Insurance Commissioner calls attention to this discriminatory move. Medicare plans do not include an out-of-pocket maximum amount, while most private insurance plans do. Statistics also show that patients with Medicare plans are [...]
Representative Pitts visits Reading Dialysis Center
During the August recess, Congressman Joe Pitts took the opportunity to engage with dialysis patients in his home district. He recently visited the Reading Dialysis Center in Reading, PA where he received a tour of the facility and met with dialysis nurses and staff. As Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, he is an influential decision maker when it comes to kidney care issues. He spoke to the dialysis staff on a variety of health proposals currently in Congress including the 21st century Cures initiative. We hope Representative Pitts will continue his support of kidney care issues by co-sponsoring [...]
Patients Work on Advocacy at Home During Congressional Recess
While Congress was in recess during the month of August, DPC Patient Ambassadors used this opportunity to engage their legislators at home. Patient Ambassadors attended meetings with congressional staff, hosted facility tours and wrote letters to the editor in support of The Chronic Kidney Disease Improvement in Research and Treatment Act (H.R. 1130, S. 598). Facility tours and meetings took place all across the country. Specifically, Bob L. from Oregon, Kathy S. from Ohio, Jim M. from Indiana and Arthur G. from Pennsylvania hosted their legislators at dialysis facilities and shared their stories to encourage support of the kidney bill. [...]
DPC Comments on 2016 Prospective Payment System and QIP
DPC recently sent a comment letter responding to the proposed payment rule for CMS’s Medicare End Stage Renal Disease program. Using responses from our 2015 Patient Survey, our suggestions focus on how CMS can improve on the key issues of payment and quality for patients. On the payment side, we urge CMS to revise its patient-level payment system by focusing on individuals’ experiences, instead of drawing conclusions based off of large amounts of data. Better support of rural facilities and home dialysis is also important, providing more access and opportunity for treatment. On the quality front, we suggest changes be [...]
RE: CMS-1631-P: Physician Fee Schedule
August 25, 2015 Andrew Slavitt, Acting Administrator Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Department of Health and Human Services Hubert H. Humphrey Building 200 Independence Avenue SW Washington, D.C. 20201 Dear Mr. Slavitt, Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) appreciates the opportunity to provide the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) with comments on the proposed payment rule for the Medicare End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) program. As America’s largest patient-led organization representing dialysis patients, DPC’s membership consists of more than 28,000 dialysis and pre-dialysis patients and their families. We seek to ensure the patient point of view is considered by [...]
JAMA Study Examines Obstacles Preventing Kidney Transplants
It is well known that the best treatment for end-stage renal disease patients is a kidney transplant. While there are many health factors that affect a patients’ ability to receive a transplant, a recent study found that only 28 percent of adult patients beginning dialysis were even referred for kidney transplant evaluations. The study, published in the Journal of American Medical Association, examined 15,000 patients within Georgia’s three transplant centers. Referral rates varied from 0% to 75% in some dialysis facilities. Researchers found that facilities with the lowest referral rate were “likely to be nonprofit, hospital-based, have more patients, treat patients [...]