Promote Financial Security Archives - Page 36 of 40

DPC Assists Grassroots Efforts to Secure Level Medicaid Funding in Alabama

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:31+00:00September 30th, 2015|Categories: Article, Medicaid, State Advocacy|

DPC has been hard at work on the state level fighting to ensure continued access to quality patient care, most recently in Alabama and North Carolina. In Alabama, patients fought to maintain Medicaid funding for outpatient dialysis, which the state was considering moving to local hospitals instead, in a potential effort to close the state budget shortfall. Patient advocates quickly took action and contacted their state legislators to encourage alternative revenue generating measures to close the budget gap as opposed to eliminating Medicaid funding. Thankfully, the state legislature responded by passing a budget with new revenue generating policies. The potential [...]

Joint Letter to Committees on Part B Premiums and Deductibles

Hannah Bracamonte2024-06-07T15:28:47+00:00September 30th, 2015|Categories: Medicaid, Medigap Coverage|

Dear Chairman Hatch, Senator Wyden, Chairman Ryan, Congressman Levin, Chairman Upton & Congressman Pallone: The undersigned organizations share a commitment to advancing the health and economic security of older adults, people with disabilities, and their families. We are writing to urge you to advance a solution to mitigate projected increases to Medicare Part B premiums and the Part B deductible in 2016. According to the 2015 Medicare Trustees Report, Part B premiums will increase by 52%—up to $159.30 per month from $104.90—for 30% of beneficiaries. The trustees also predict that this increase will be accompanied by a hike in the [...]

Re: Essential Health Benefits – 2017 Benchmark Plans

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:32+00:00September 28th, 2015|Categories: Care Coordination, Comment Letter, Promote Financial Security|Tags: Health Insurance Exchange|

Hon. Kevin Counihan Center for Consumer and Information and Insurance Oversight Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hubert H. Humphrey Building 200 Independence Ave, SW Washington, D.C. 20201 Re: Essential Health Benefits - 2017 Benchmark Plans Dear Deputy Director Counihan: Dialysis Patient Citizens, America’s largest patient-led organization representing dialysis patients, is comprised of more than 28,000 dialysis and pre-dialysis patients and their families. We seek to ensure the patient point of view is considered by policy makers. We are writing to comment on the Agency’s List of Proposed 2017 Essential Health Benefits (EHB) Benchmark Plans. States have four options for [...]

Letter to Oregon Insurance Commissioner Emphasizes Importance of Private Insurance
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Letter to Oregon Insurance Commissioner Emphasizes Importance of Private Insurance

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:32+00:00September 16th, 2015|Categories: Article, Charitable Premium Assistance, Comment Letter, Improve Access to Care, Promote Financial Security, State Advocacy|Tags: Health Insurance Exchange|

Regence and Moda, two private insurance plans in Oregon, recently made changes to their 2016 plans that would negatively affect ESRD patients. Specifically, after three months of coverage, any out-of-pocket payments patients make for dialysis treatment will no longer count towards their out-of-pocket maximums. This appears to be an effort to pressure dialysis patients to drop their private coverage and enroll in Medicare. DPC’s letter to the Oregon Insurance Commissioner calls attention to this discriminatory move. Medicare plans do not include an out-of-pocket maximum amount, while most private insurance plans do. Statistics also show that patients with Medicare plans are [...]

Representative Pitts visits Reading Dialysis Center

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:32+00:00September 16th, 2015|Categories: Article, Care Coordination, Dialysis Funding, Medicare Advantage, Promote Financial Security|

During the August recess, Congressman Joe Pitts took the opportunity to engage with dialysis patients in his home district. He recently visited the Reading Dialysis Center in Reading, PA where he received a tour of the facility and met with dialysis nurses and staff. As Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, he is an influential decision maker when it comes to kidney care issues. He spoke to the dialysis staff on a variety of health proposals currently in Congress including the 21st century Cures initiative. We hope Representative Pitts will continue his support of kidney care issues by co-sponsoring [...]

Biosimilar Medication Topic of House Letter to CMS

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:32+00:00August 14th, 2015|Categories: Improve Access to Care, Increase Quality of Care, Promote Financial Security|

When the FDA approves a generic drug, it’s based on the chemicals contained in the original brand medication. Congress recently enacted a similar process for the approval of “biosimilars” based on the original biologic medication. The main difference is that the “biosimilar” is approved based on its development process. Biosimilars have the potential to be a cheaper alternative for expensive biologic medications such as Epogen, a drug used for anemia management. A letter sent from the House of Representatives to the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) calls attention to a biosimilar reimbursement proposal in CMS’s 2016 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule proposed [...]

Congress Adopts Key Element of Kidney Community Agenda: Clinics May Soon Dialyze Acute Kidney Injury Patients

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:32+00:00July 16th, 2015|Categories: Article, Medigap Coverage|

In passing the President's trade legislation last month, Congress enacted a longtime priority of kidney care advocates: permitting patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) to be treated in dialysis clinics. Under current law, AKI patients may only receive dialysis at hospitals, which is more costly to the Medicare program and less convenient for patients. Congress took this measure from the Chronic Kidney Disease Improvement in Research and Treatment Act, the comprehensive kidney bill that DPC has supported, so that the Medicare savings could pay for assistance to displaced workers. While DPC does not endorse the use of Medicare savings to offset [...]

DPC Submits Ideas for Improving ESRD Care to Special Senate Task Force

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:32+00:00July 16th, 2015|Categories: Article, Care Coordination, Medicare Advantage|

Earlier this spring, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee invited stakeholders to submit ideas to improve care for Medicare beneficiaries with chronic diseases. DPC submitted its comments on June 22 with a focus on how end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients could benefit from increased care coordination among providers. The Senate Finance Committee oversees the Medicare program and both the current Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and top Democrat Ron Wyden (D-OR) have prioritized improving patient outcomes while lowering costs. They appointed a bipartisan task force to move forward with the best ideas for achieving these goals. DPC's comments stressed that a main barrier [...]

DPC Writes to Montana state official, in support of a proposed rule allowing Medigap open enrollment for Medicare patients under the age of 65 with disabilities or ESRD

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:32+00:00July 9th, 2015|Categories: Comment Letter, Medigap Coverage, State Advocacy|

Brett O’Neill, Attorney Office of the Commissioner of Securities and Insurance Montana State Auditor 840 Helena Ave. Helena, MT 59601 RE: Medicare Supplements – ARM 6.6.507B, .507C, .507E, .511, .511A Dear Mr. O’Neill: As the nation’s largest patient-led organization representing dialysis patients, Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) works to improve the quality of life for all dialysis patients through education and advocacy. On behalf of our membership, and particularly on behalf of the over 750 dialysis patients in Montana, we are writing in support of the proposed rule allowing for open enrollment in Medigap plans for Medicare patients under the age [...]

DPC Shares Patient Perspective at Congressional Briefing

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:32+00:00June 11th, 2015|Categories: Article, Medicare Advantage, Medigap Coverage|

Kidney Care Partners, in coordination with the Congressional Kidney Caucus, recently hosted a briefing on Capitol Hill to stress the importance of ensuring quality kidney care now and in the future. The briefing featured opening remarks by Kidney Caucus co-chairs, Rep. Tom Marino (R-PA) and Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA), who both emphasized the need for increased awareness and research for kidney care issues. Nancy Scott, DPC Education Center Board President, was on hand to provide the patient's perspective to the attendees. Nancy lives by the mantra "end-stage renal disease does not mean the end of your life—just the [...]

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