Like over 91,000 Californians, my father suffers from end stage renal disease — kidney failure, or ESRD. My father has been receiving dialysis, the only treatment for ESRD besides a kidney transplant, for over 18 years. Dialysis is a life-consuming, exhausting treatment, but it keeps my father alive. I have served as my father’s part-time caregiver during these years. Unfortunately, many dialysis patients struggle with their healthcare expenses. Many rely on their employer-provided private insurance, especially during the first months of care, but dialysis treatment can make it very challenging to continue working. Since most receive their diagnosis unexpectedly, having that insurance [...]

At 22, while serving in the Army National Guard, I discovered I had a hereditary immune disease called IgA nephropathy affecting my kidneys. When I turned 50, my kidneys finally began to fail. I then entered end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and began dialysis, which removes waste from the blood when the kidneys can't. Dialysis has been a part of my life ever since. My father and grandfather both suffered from ESRD. Losing my father to the disease last November was tragic, especially as I battled the disease myself, but it inspired me to become an advocate for policies protecting kidney [...]

Dear Editor: Kidney failure runs in my family, so I knew that my chances of experiencing kidney failure were high. I received the heartbreaking and scary diagnosis in 2004 and soon after I began dialysis, the sole treatment outside of a kidney transplant. I received a kidney transplant after an exhausting 13 years on dialysis. When I was first diagnosed, I relied on employer-provided private insurance to cover my healthcare expenses. After two years I transitioned to Medicare, and I currently rely on Medicare and private insurance. Although I consistently pay high premiums out-of-pocket, private insurance has allowed me to [...]

I have kidney failure, and I need dialysis to survive. Dialysis is a treatment which removes excess water and toxins from my blood because my kidneys do not function naturally anymore. It has been a challenge, and my body is still getting used to the frequent treatment which wears down my body. Dialysis patients already worry enough about their physical condition. They should not have to worry about finances too. Sadly, they do. I was lucky to be retired and have sufficient coverage when I began dialysis, but I know people who struggle to pay. Some have private insurance, but [...]

End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), commonly called kidney failure, changed my life. I was first diagnosed with kidney disease in 2014, and my kidneys totally failed in 2020 after a battle with covid-19. I relied on dialysis, the treatment which replaced my kidneys' blood-filtering function, from 2020 until August of 2023 when I received a kidney transplant. As an ESRD patient advocate lucky enough to have received a transplant, I feel obligated to call on Congressman French Hill to help future dialysis patients afford lifesaving dialysis care. He can do so by supporting the Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act. [...]

I have chronic kidney disease. Thankfully, my kidneys are still functioning, but they are at risk of failure any time. I became a dialysis patient advocate because I may eventually have to withstand the difficulties that come with dialysis in America. I am fighting for my future and for the future of all dialysis patients in America. I am concerned with a recent Supreme Court decision that allows private insurers to essentially push new dialysis patients off of their private insurance and onto Medicare soon after beginning treatment. This puts the health and well-being of those already fighting a monumental battle at [...]

Last year, I wrote to you about my journey as a kidney patient after my diagnosis in 2017 and I’m writing to you again to call on Congresswoman Stephanie Bice to protect kidney patients like me. Recently, a ruling the U.S. Supreme Court made weakens protections for dialysis patients by allowing private insurance to lessen coverage and force patients onto Medicare before the traditional 30-month grace period. The problem is Medicare only covers 80% of a dialysis patient’s bill, including mine. Luckily, I’m able to continue working, but I have to fight tooth-and-nail to pay my bills. Although I can [...]