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One Week Left to Apply – 2026 Advocacy Day

2026-01-21T19:32:39+00:00January 21st, 2026|Categories: Article, Get Involved, Improve Access to Care, Increase Quality of Care, Policy Issues, Promote Financial Security, Protect Patient Care|

Applications for DPC’s 2026 Advocacy Day are due next Friday, January 30th! Be sure to submit your application for a chance to come to Washington, D.C., June 29 – 30, 2026, and speak with your members of Congress about important pieces of legislation that will help improve the lives of kidney patients. Participants will be selected based on the quality of their application, legislative priorities, and previous involvement in DPC's advocacy efforts. We will hold a training session ahead of our advocacy day for those participating to explain the process and review the legislation. If you are interested, please complete the [...]

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Open Enrollment Deadlines for Texas Dialysis Patients

2026-01-21T19:35:03+00:00January 12th, 2026|Categories: Article, Medicare Advantage, Medigap Coverage, State Advocacy|

In a major victory for under age 65 Texans living on dialysis, House Bill 2516 became law in 2025. HB 2516 provides access for under-age 65 dialysis patients to purchase affordable Medigap insurance plans A, B and D at the same premium rate as those who are age 65. The remaining Medigap lettered plans are available at 200% of the age 65 premium. This legislation impacts not only individuals who have just started dialysis and enrolled in Medicare Part B, but it also includes a one-time, 6-month open enrollment window for dialysis patients who are already enrolled in Medicare Part B. This [...]

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Urge Your Members of Congress to Cosponsor H.R. 2199/S. 1173 – The Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act

2026-01-21T20:43:12+00:00January 5th, 2026|Categories: Article, Private Insurance Coverage, Promote Financial Security, Take Action|

Last year, The Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act was introduced by Representatives Mike Kelly (R-PA), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Neal Dunn, MD (R-FL), Danny Davis (D-IL), John Joyce, MD (R-PA) and Raul Ruiz, MD (D-CA) as well as Senators Bill Cassidy MD (R-LA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), and Martin Heinrich (D-NM).  This bipartisan, bicameral legislation would restore protections for ESRD patients and allow them to stay on the insurance coverage of their choice for up to 30 months.  While all ESRD patients are eligible for Medicare, allowing a patient to choose to stay on their private insurance would [...]

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Giving Thanks

2025-11-25T18:09:52+00:00November 25th, 2025|Categories: About DPC, Advance Patient Choice, Article, Dialysis Funding, Get Involved, Improve Access to Care, Increase Quality of Care, Innovation, News, Patient Ambassadors, Patient's Voice, Policy Issues, Press, Private Insurance Coverage, Promote Financial Security, Protect Patient Care, Treatment Options|

As we approach Thanksgiving this week, DPC would like to take a moment to thank all of our phenomenal Board Members, Patient Ambassadors, and kidney advocates for sharing their stories and fighting to improve the quality of life for dialysis and kidney transplant patients nationwide. DPC Board Members Hasan Artharee and Ken Stephens recently shared videos on their kidney journeys and two important pieces of legislation that are currently in Congress that would have a major impact on patient quality of life. As a fourth-generation PKD patient and the third in his family to undergo dialysis, Hasan knows firsthand the challenges [...]

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Support kidney patients by fixing Medicare gaps

2025-12-02T18:29:51+00:00November 20th, 2025|Categories: Increase Quality of Care, Innovation, Patient Ambassadors, Patient Stories in the News|

In 2017, I had a heart attack, stroke, and was diagnosed with kidney failure. I soon began dialysis, the only treatment besides a transplant for kidney failure. Thankfully, I received a transplant more than three years ago. I may be post-transplant, but I know many who are still on dialysis, including my mother. My sisters and I have been caring for her through her dialysis journey. We couldn’t imagine our mother going through this alone. Yet, many patients don’t have support systems. That’s why we need a system that’s fair and forward-looking, one that doesn’t abandon patients. That’s why I’m [...]

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Support restoring dialysis patient protections

2026-01-21T19:44:44+00:00November 16th, 2025|Categories: Featured Spotlight, Medigap Coverage, Patient Ambassadors, Patient Stories in the News, Promote Financial Security, Spotlight|

I’ve lived with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) since I was 9. ESRD is permanent kidney failure. Dialysis, a process that filters your blood when your kidneys no longer can, is what keeps me alive. I’ve spent over 20 years on dialysis, and I now do treatments at home several times a week. I worked most of my adult life, taking advantage of reliable private insurance from my employers for my costly treatments. That coverage helped me stay independent and maintain my health. But I recently became quite ill and had to stop working. My only option to supplement Medicare [...]

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Upcoming Open Enrollment Deadlines for Nevada Dialysis Patients

2025-10-29T18:34:36+00:00October 29th, 2025|Categories: Article, Medicare Advantage, Medigap Coverage, Protect Patient Care, State Advocacy|

In a major victory for under age 65 Nevadans living on dialysis, Senate Bill 292 became law earlier this year. SB 292 provides access for under-age 65 dialysis patients to purchase affordable Medigap insurance plans A, B and D at the same premium rate as those who are age 65. The remaining Medigap lettered plans are available at 200% of the age 65 premium. This legislation impacts not only individuals who have just started dialysis and enrolled in Medicare Part B, but it also includes a one-time, 6-month open enrollment window for dialysis patients who are already enrolled in Medicare Part [...]

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Support the Kidney Care Access Protection Act

2025-10-14T19:50:55+00:00October 11th, 2025|Categories: Increase Quality of Care, Innovation, Patient Ambassadors, Patient Stories in the News|

Kidney failure turned my life upside down. I was only 19 years old and three months pregnant when I began dialysis, the only treatment outside of a transplant for kidney failure. Since then, I’ve received a transplant that ultimately failed, and I’ve spent nearly a decade back on dialysis. It’s an exhausting and all-consuming treatment — but what makes it worse is how outdated and underfunded our system is when it comes to new therapies. That’s why I support the Kidney Care Access Protection Act (KCAPA). It would fix the way Medicare pays for innovative drugs and devices used in [...]

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Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients

2025-11-21T18:02:01+00:00October 10th, 2025|Categories: Medigap Coverage, Patient Ambassadors, Patient Stories in the News, Promote Financial Security|

As a caregiver for my late father-in-law on dialysis – the only treatment for kidney failure outside of a transplant – I saw firsthand how taxing kidney disease can be. My wife, a nurse, handled his home dialysis treatments day after day. I helped wherever I could – driving him to appointments, shaving him when he could no longer manage, and offering the emotional support both he and my wife needed. Dialysis didn’t just affect him. It shaped our entire family’s life. We gave everything to help him stay home, stay comfortable, and maintain his dignity. Thankfully, he had sufficient [...]

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Ongoing Government Shutdown

2025-10-29T14:39:54+00:00October 6th, 2025|Categories: Article, Medicare Advantage, News, Promote Financial Security, Protect Patient Care|

The federal government is currently shut down due to a spending impasse in Congress over extending Affordable Care Act subsidies and restoring Medicaid cuts in H.R.1, the reconciliation bill passed in July. It is unclear how long the shutdown will last.  The shutdown halts many of the federal government’s “nonessential” functions, but your benefits under entitlement programs such as Medicaid and Medicare continue. According to communications from the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) sent to patient advocates (10/1/25), 1-800-MEDICARE will continue to operate as usual. State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIPs) should be able to continue their regular program activities but designated [...]

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