To the Editor: As a single mom, starting dialysis required a lot of shuffling so I could attend treatments while juggling my responsibilities as a parent. Thankfully, it didn’t require big out-of-pocket payments to cover what Medicare couldn’t, since Michigan requires insurers to provide dialysis patients like me with access to Medigap. I know the reality is different for patients in my situation in other states, so I’m happy to see members of Congress from both parties working on the Jack Reynolds Memorial Medigap Expansion Act, which would expand “Medigap” coverage to dialysis patients under 65, so they don’t get [...]

I have struggled with kidney disease my entire life. I was diagnosed with End Stage Renal Disease when I was 7 years old, and I finally went on dialysis in 2010 at age 26 when my kidneys failed. While I was able to receive full coverage from private and public insurance providers due to the fact that I am legally blind, the sad reality is that many dialysis patients who aren’t disabled don’t have access to the full coverage they need for their treatments. For that reason, it’s important that Congress passes The Jack Reynolds Memorial Medigap Expansion Act. This [...]

Last year was tough for everyone as we navigated life during a pandemic and did what we could to stay home. Unfortunately, things got even tougher when I found out I had to start dialysis treatments again. While I was initially able to stop dialysis in 2010 thanks to a kidney transplant, complications meant that I had to start treatments again in 2020. The second time around, the entire process has been more difficult since I have more treatments each week than I did previously, and the cost of medications, treatments and more take their toll. Cost is a major [...]

For 10 years, I acted as my father’s in-home dialysis provider, and having the chance to be there for him was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. While he passed away last year, I’ve been able to channel that energy into helping and educating other patients who are in the same position he was. Caring for my father, along with my experiences as a nurse and my recent schooling to become a health education specialist, opened my eyes to a lot of disparities affecting our health system that have serious ramifications for dialysis patients. So many patients [...]

When the COVID-19 pandemic first hit last year, it forced a lot of people out of work. That was especially the case for dialysis patients like me, as our kidney disease means we’re at a higher risk for getting seriously sick if we get COVID-19, and we’ve had to take extra steps to stay safe. While I’m looking forward to returning to work, doing so means I will lose some of the coverage I have that covers what Medicare doesn’t. Unless I can get that “Medigap” coverage, I and other dialysis patients in my situation will be stuck paying significant [...]

Kidney disease has been a major part of my life from the very start. I was born with just one functioning kidney and, defying doctors’ expectations, made it to age 25 before I needed to start dialysis treatments. Through my own experiences with dialysis and my conversations with other patients in dialysis clinics across the United States in the years since, I’ve seen that there are still a lot of barriers that prevent patients who have End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) from getting the level of care they need at an affordable cost. This has only been magnified since the start [...]

Living with kidney disease, undergoing dialysis, and ultimately traveling out-of-state to receive a kidney transplant provided me with a harsh lesson in how challenging life with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) can be both physically and financially. It’s already difficult having to go through all these treatments even before considering the financial burdens that come with them. The costs are a lot for patients, and many of them are hit with bills they simply can’t afford. As those costs pile up, patients can become ineligible for treatments that they need, and even can be excluded from getting a transplant. This especially [...]