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LETTER: Expand Medigap and help dialysis patients get the care they need

2024-03-29T01:10:13+00:00August 29th, 2021|Categories: Patient Stories in the News|

I was only 19 years old when I was diagnosed with kidney disease. Because I was under 65, Medicare didn’t cover the full costs of treatments and medications throughout my 10 tough years on dialysis, and I was forced to make difficult choices between the care I needed and basic needs like groceries. A new bill, however, the Jack Reynolds Memorial Medigap Expansion Act, would change that by expanding Medigap coverage to dialysis patients under the age of 65. This bipartisan bill would make sure that every dialysis patient gets the healthcare coverage they need, which is why our leaders, [...]

2021 Annual Survey Last Call!

2024-03-29T01:10:13+00:00August 26th, 2021|Categories: 5-Star Ratings, Access to Transplant, Article, Care Coordination, Charitable Premium Assistance, Dental Coverage, Dialysis Funding, Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage, Innovation, Medicaid, Medicare Advantage, Medigap Coverage, Patient's Voice, Protect Patient Care, Quality Incentive Program, Take Action, Transplant Donor Protection, Transportation Services, Treatment Options|Tags: |

24 hours remain to complete our survey. Make sure to complete your survey for a chance at one of 10 remaining $100 gift certificates. Our 2021 Annual Membership Survey is live, and it will remain open until Friday, August 27. Your feedback helps to shape our public policy agenda and patient education priorities for the next year. This year we ask that both patients and caregivers take our survey. Rest assured your responses will remain completely anonymous. We only share the overall survey results with state and federal level policy makers, so they will better understand your needs, experiences, and [...]

Dialysis Patients Need Help. A New Medigap Bill is the Perfect Place to Start.

2024-03-29T01:10:13+00:00August 24th, 2021|Categories: Patient Stories in the News, Spotlight|

In 2004 my dad had his first dialysis treatment after flatlining from a heart procedure. We were not sure he would make it through the night as his organs were shutting down, but we were told that dialysis would help and at the time, we wanted to just do whatever was needed to save him. When my dad left the hospital, we were told that his kidneys would require dialysis in the future and his doctors would monitor him. Fast-forward to 2007, and we were informed that my dad would require dialysis three days a week for four hours at [...]

DPC Urges Medicare to Add Resources for Health Equity

2024-03-29T01:10:13+00:00August 19th, 2021|Categories: Comment Letter, Improve Access to Care, Medicare Advantage, Quality Incentive Program|

DPC has filed its letter commenting on this year’s Medicare ESRD Proposed Rule, which governs payments to dialysis facilities. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) heralded this year’s payment rules as undertaking new initiatives to reduce health disparities. DPC’s letter critiques these initiatives as insufficient and endorses alternative approaches. CMS is proposing to collect new data on racial disparities, and to stratify quality measures so that facilities serving disadvantaged patients no longer receive QIP payment reductions simply because patients are poor. DPC endorses these moves, but points to recent calls by experts to address disparities by supplementing payments to [...]

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Medigap Bill A Welcome Change for Mississippi Dialysis Patients

2024-03-29T01:10:14+00:00August 12th, 2021|Categories: Patient Ambassadors, Patient Stories in the News, Spotlight|

Kristal pictured with her husband, Ernest Higgins. Photo by Cameron B. Potts My kidney transplant failing in 2017 changed my life. I went back on dialysis for the first time since 2012 and was spending more time in the hospital than I had before. Then, I lost my job and the insurance coverage it provided, and I had to go back on Medicare, which didn’t cover the whole cost of dialysis and forced me to pay up to 20 percent of the cost of my treatments. I’m not alone, either. Dialysis patients all over the country struggle to [...]

LETTER: Medigap Expansion is Needed

2024-03-29T01:10:14+00:00August 11th, 2021|Categories: Patient Stories in the News|

To the editor: As someone who has been on dialysis for 23 years, educating other patients and advocating for them gives my job meaning. I get to assist people who have gone through the same challenges I have and help people better understand exactly what life on dialysis is like. Through my work, I’ve seen how many patients struggle with high costs. A lot of patients rely on Medicare, but can have considerable out-of-pocket costs when it doesn’t cover what they need. This is especially true for patients under 65, who often don’t receive Medigap coverage for those costs that [...]

Medigap Expansion Bill Vital to Making Treatments Affordable

2024-03-29T01:10:14+00:00July 29th, 2021|Categories: Patient Stories in the News, Spotlight|

Something felt a little off after my daughter was born. I started feeling more exhausted each day after work, and at one point one of my elementary school students even pointed out that I didn’t look well. I had always been perfectly healthy, so I never expected that I’d be diagnosed with kidney disease. But, after a referral to Johns Hopkins for care, doctors started me on dialysis right away. That’s when my long, difficult road with kidney disease began. Shortly after starting dialysis treatments – despite receiving the best care possible – I fell into a 31-day coma that [...]

Letter to the Editor: Kidney disease patients are in need of new Medigap Expansion bill

2024-03-29T01:10:14+00:00July 28th, 2021|Categories: Patient Ambassadors, Patient Stories in the News|

As a kid, I remember watching my dad receive his dialysis treatments at home. Kidney disease runs in my family, and tragically it has taken not only my dad’s life, but many others in my family before their time. I received my own kidney disease diagnosis almost 20 years ago. Medical costs are rising and continue to rise for kidney patients, and it is a challenge to overcome the obstacles of what insurance does not cover. However, Medicare doesn’t always cover the cost of care for kidney disease patients under the age of 65, and many people can’t afford to pay [...]

Bill helps kidney patients get needed coverage

2024-03-29T01:10:14+00:00July 21st, 2021|Categories: Patient Stories in the News|

Starting dialysis in 2016 showed me there are a lot of challenges patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) face. There are major lifestyle differences, and treatments take several hours multiple days each week. While I can do these treatments from home at night, lots of other patients need to make trips to their local clinics, which takes an exhausting toll. One of the biggest challenges for many patients, though, is the cost of the treatments and medications. Over time, those costs get overwhelming and can force patients and families to make difficult decisions that they should never have to worry [...]

It Works When We Work Together – 2021 State Legislature Recap

2024-03-29T01:10:14+00:00July 19th, 2021|Categories: Advance Patient Choice, Article, Medigap Coverage, State Advocacy, Transplant Donor Protection|

Nearly two years ago, DPC expanded its advocacy footprint to establish a state advocacy program to complement our ongoing federal efforts and in response to states increasing their role in health care policy and the delivery system which impacts dialysis patients’ access to quality care. While Congress continues its work through the remainder of 2021, a majority of state legislatures have already adjourned for this calendar year. Forty-six (46) state legislatures hold annual regular sessions and four states (MT, ND, NV and TX) hold biennial regular sessions, meeting every other year. Working with a number of our Patient Ambassadors throughout [...]

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