Improve Access to Care Archives - Page 16 of 17

Congressional Corner: Over the Cliff – Then Quickly Back Up Again

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T02:09:00+00:00January 3rd, 2013|Categories: Blog, Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage, Transportation Services|

By Carrie L., Director of Congressional and State Relations Well, we went over the fiscal cliff. And then, just hours later a deal was struck, a few hours late but a deal to bring us back from the brink nonetheless. The 112th Congress concluded its tumultuous, and gridlocked 2 years by passing a deal to avoid massive tax hikes for the middle class and a 27% decrease in payments to Medicare providers on New Year’s Day. Unfortunately, cuts to the Medicare ESRD program were still included in the fiscal cliff package. The deal calls on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid [...]

Congressional Corner: A Year of DPC Advocacy Successes!
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Congressional Corner: A Year of DPC Advocacy Successes!

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T02:09:00+00:00December 12th, 2012|Categories: Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage, Medicaid, State Advocacy, Transportation Services|Tags: Health Insurance Exchange, Nutritional Supplements|

By Carrie L., Director of Congressional and State Relations As 2012 comes to an end, DPC has a lot to celebrate and a lot to look forward to. DPC staff and most importantly our members, have achieved so much this year, bringing awareness to kidney disease issues both in Congress and in their communities! Patient Ambassadors held dozens of kidney and dialysis awareness events across the country in support of World Kidney Day and other events throughout the year. Patient Ambassadors taught members of their churches and civic organizations as well as youth in schools about the importance of keeping your [...]

DPC Urges Nevada Commission of Insurance to Not Make Cuts for Patients’ Modality, Transportation, Care and Treatment

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T02:09:01+00:00September 27th, 2012|Categories: Access to Transplant, Comment Letter, Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage, Improve Access to Care, State Advocacy, Transplant Donor Protection, Treatment Options|

Scott J. Kipper Commissioner of Insurance State of Nevada 1818 E. College Parkway, Suite 103 Carson City, NV 89706 Dear Commissioner Kipper: As America’s largest patient-led organization representing dialysis patients, Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) works to improve the quality of life of all dialysis patients through education and advocacy. Today we are writing on behalf of the nearly 3,000 dialysis patients in Nevada to make sure that their health and interests are represented in the State’s essential health benefits plan. DPC is committed to improving patient health and quality of life and to that end, there are several important benefits [...]

A Recent Meeting with CMMI

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T02:09:01+00:00September 11th, 2012|Categories: Blog, Care Coordination, Innovation, Promote Financial Security|

By Jessica N., Director of Public Affairs Hi, my name is Jessica and I am the Director of Public Affairs for Dialysis Patient Citizens. That means I create and coordinate the communications that come out of the DPC office, including the Patient Citizen that is on its way to your mailbox. I also work with our policy team on federal initiatives that impact dialysis patients, including changes to Medicare, the “bundle” and QIP and efforts to make sure all of you can take advantage of new policies put in place through health reform. Because my work at DPC is different [...]

DPC Comments on the Creation of Nephrology Specific Integrated Care Pilot Projects

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T02:09:25+00:00September 5th, 2012|Categories: Care Coordination, Comment Letter, Innovation|

Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) appreciates the opportunity to engage in ongoing dialogue and the continuous ability to provide feedback to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) on issues related to the improvement of care for chronic disease (CKD) patients. In our July 23, 2012 letter to CMMI leadership, we proposed several initiatives to consider as integrated care projects are considered. To further enhance our earlier statements, we have included timely data from our nationwide survey of patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD). For clarity, the following list includes the primary [...]

DPC’s Letter to Daniel Farmer of the Stakeholder Engagement Group at CMMI

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T02:09:25+00:00July 23rd, 2012|Categories: Care Coordination, Comment Letter, Innovation|

Daniel Farmer Stakeholder Engagement Group Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) 7500 Security Boulevard Baltimore, MD 21244 Dear Mr. Farmer: Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) appreciates the opportunity to provide ongoing feedback from the patient prospective to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) on issues related to the improvement of care for chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. We applaud the mission of the department and your role in shaping healthcare through the identification of new delivery and payment options and the promotion of best [...]

DPC Comments on MATP Co-payment

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T02:09:26+00:00March 5th, 2012|Categories: Comment Letter, State Advocacy, Transportation Services|

March 5, 2012 Department of Public Welfare c/o Regulations Coordinator Room 515 Health and Welfare Building Harrisburg, PA 17120 RE: Proposed Co-payment for Medical Assistance Transportation Program To Whom It May Concern: As America’s largest patient-led organization representing dialysis patients, Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) works to improve the quality of life for all dialysis patients through advocacy and education. We are writing today on behalf of the over 14,000 dialysis patients in Pennsylvania, specifically those who utilize the State’s Medical Assistance Transportation Program (MATP). This program provides vital transportation for patients to and from dialysis treatments and adding a co-payment [...]

DPC Comments on Medicare Advantage Drive Times

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T02:09:26+00:00February 24th, 2012|Categories: Comment Letter, Transportation Services|

February 24, 2012 Jonathan Blum Deputy Administrator and Director for the Center of Medicare Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Department of Health and Human Services Room 314G 200 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20201 Re: Time and Distance Criteria for Outpatient Dialysis Dear Mr. Blum: As the nation’s leading kidney disease and dialysis patient advocacy organizations, we appreciate the opportunity to provide comments on the recent changes to the Time and Distance Criteria for Outpatient Dialysis. Each year in the United States, more than 100,000 Americans are diagnosed with end stage renal disease (ESRD), an irreversible condition which is fatal [...]

DPC’s Letter to Acting Director Richard J. Gilfillan for CMMI

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T02:09:26+00:00July 8th, 2011|Categories: Care Coordination, Innovation|

Acting Director Richard J. Gilfillan, M.D. Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Mail Stop C5-15-12, Room C5-15-03 7500 Security Boulevard Baltimore, MD 21244 Dear Dr. Gilfillan: Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC), the nation’s largest dialysis patient organization, is writing to encourage the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to implement a large-scale program targeted at improving health outcomes and quality of care for beneficiaries with end stage renal disease (ESRD), which would build on the success of the recent ESRD Disease Management demonstration project. As a patient education [...]

Shared Savings Program and Accountable Care Organizations

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T02:09:27+00:00June 2nd, 2011|Categories: Care Coordination, Comment Letter|

Dr. Donald Berwick Administrator Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Department of Health and Human Services Hubert H. Humphrey Building Room 445-G 200 Independence Ave, SW Washington, DC 20201 Re: CMS-1345-P: Medicare Program; Shared Savings Program: Accountable Care Organizations Dear Dr. Berwick: Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) appreciates the opportunity to comment to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on the Proposed Rule for the Medicare Shared Savings Program: Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). As America’s largest dialysis patient organization, DPC seeks to ensure that the patient’s point of view is heard and considered by policy makers on a wide [...]

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