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DPC Comments on CMS Proposed Rule Regarding Medicare Advantage

2024-03-29T01:12:07+00:00March 10th, 2020|Categories: Care Coordination, Comment Letter, Medicare Advantage, Treatment Options|

In 2021 End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) patients will be permitted to enroll in Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, potentially bringing major changes to ESRD care and how patients experience it. When open enrollment begins this fall, we want to make sure patients have access to the same robust benefits offered with MA plans right now. DPC reached out to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) with recommendations on how to ensure ESRD patients maintain the access, choice and quality care they expect when these benefits are available to everyone. Currently, the only ESRD patients with MA plans are those [...]

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Court Temporarily Blocks AB 290, Allowing Charitable Assistance Program to Continue Serving Dialysis Patients Pending Trial Outcome

2024-03-29T01:13:32+00:00January 8th, 2020|Categories: Article, Charitable Premium Assistance, Improve Access to Care, Legal Defense, State Advocacy|

DPC works hard to protect patient access to quality care for all dialysis patients, which is often only possible with the support charitable assistance from organizations such as the American Kidney Fund (AKF). Unfortunately, a new law recently enacted in California threatens that access. DPC quickly joined AKF and two patients as plaintiffs in a lawsuit seeking to prevent this newly passed law from going into effect at the start of 2020. In late December, we were pleased that the court recognized our concerns of potential patient harm, granting us a preliminary injunction, which prevents the law from taking effect [...]

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Medigap Coverage Gains Support in New Legislation

2024-03-29T01:13:32+00:00January 4th, 2020|Categories: Article, Medigap Coverage, Take Action|

During recent discussions on drug pricing legislation, House leadership decided to use some of the potential savings to pay for some of our priorities. One such provision would provide all dialysis patients with access to Medigap—a supplemental insurance plan which helps patients pay for the expenses not covered by Medicare. This priority was originally included in the Chronic Kidney Disease Improvement in Research and Treatment Act (S. 1676/ H.R. 3912) or “Kidney Bill.” Under Federal law, Medicare beneficiaries age 65 and older are guaranteed access to Medigap policies, but beneficiaries under age 65, including many with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), [...]

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Happy Holidays and DPC’s Top 10 Accomplishments of 2019

2024-03-29T01:13:32+00:00December 20th, 2019|Categories: 5-Star Ratings, About DPC, Access to Transplant, Article, Care Coordination, Charitable Premium Assistance, Dental Coverage, Dialysis Funding, Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage, Innovation, Medicaid, Medicare Advantage, Medigap Coverage, Quality Incentive Program, Transplant Donor Protection, Transportation Services, Treatment Options|

Dialysis Patient Citizens wants to wish you and your family a Happy Holiday, as well as a safe and healthy New Year. Our offices will be closed for the holidays starting December 23 through January 1. We also want to take this opportunity to share our list of Top 10 Accomplishments for 2019, which would not have been possible without your support. Thank you again for helping us elevate the dialysis patient voice with policy makers. We are extremely grateful for all of your advocacy efforts, and we look forward to our continued collaboration in 2020 as we work together to improve dialysis [...]

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DPC Meets with Oregon State Legislatures to Protect Patient Care

2024-03-29T01:13:32+00:00December 2nd, 2019|Categories: Article, Charitable Premium Assistance, Improve Access to Care, State Advocacy|

DPC staff standing in front of Oregon State Capitol In mid-November, DPC staff traveled to Salem, Oregon, to attend an informational hearing held by the Oregon House Committee on Health Care regarding outpatient dialysis treatment. The hearing focused on issues such as improving and expanding patient access to care while exploring ways in which to lower the cost of health care delivry for dialysis patients. While there, DPC staff also took the opportunity to meet individually with nearly all the Members of the House and Senate Health Committees or their staff. The goal of our meetings was to [...]

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DPC Fights for Patient Access in California

2024-03-29T01:13:33+00:00November 7th, 2019|Categories: Article, Charitable Premium Assistance, Improve Access to Care, Legal Defense, State Advocacy|

DPC is participating in a lawsuit against the state of California after a bill was passed by the Legislature that jeopardizes patient access to charitable assistance. The new law (known as Assembly Bill 290) was signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom last month. Conditions in the new law practically eliminates charitable assistance, which has helped thousands of low-income patients in California pay for their health insurance. The law will take effect January 1, 2020 unless the judge orders the delay DPC is requesting. DPC is fighting similar legislation in other states and will continue to protect dialysis patient access to [...]

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Patients and Advocacy Groups File Federal Lawsuit Against the State of California to Overturn AB 290

2024-03-29T01:13:33+00:00November 4th, 2019|Categories: Charitable Premium Assistance, Improve Access to Care, Legal Defense, Press Release, State Advocacy|

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif., Two kidney failure patients, together with two patient advocacy groups—the American Kidney Fund (AKF) and Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC)—filed a federal lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against the State of California. The lawsuit, Doe vs. Becerra, asks the court to strike down AB 290, the newly enacted law that will do irreversible harm to dialysis and transplant patients who need charitable assistance to help them pay for health care. Filed against California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, Shelley Rouillard, Director of the California Department of Managed Health Care, and Susan Fanelli, Acting Director of the [...]

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DPC Advocates for Patient Access to Private Health Insurance

2024-03-29T01:13:33+00:00October 30th, 2019|Categories: Article, Dialysis Funding, Improve Access to Care, Legal Defense, Private Insurance Coverage, Promote Financial Security|Tags: |

DPC filed an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit to protect patient access to private health insurance coverage. This is one of a number of lawsuits challenging discrimination by employer health plans in how they pay for dialysis. End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) patients are protected by the Medicare Secondary Payer Act (MSP), which permits ESRD patients to remain on their private health insurance plans for 30 months before they must enroll in Medicare. To protect this right from being chipped away, Congress prohibited health plans from making any distinctions in how they cover dialysis relative to how other treatments or diseases are [...]

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DPC Comments on CMS Proposed ESRD Annual Payment Rule to Improve Dialysis Patient Quality of Life

2024-03-29T01:13:33+00:00October 11th, 2019|Categories: Access to Transplant, Article, Charitable Premium Assistance, Comment Letter, Dental Coverage, Dialysis Funding, Innovation, Medicare Advantage, Quality Incentive Program, Treatment Options|

Each year—typically during the summer—the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) puts out rules for how they are going to pay for dialysis treatment. The rules reflect CMS' latest policies, and organizations have the opportunity to provide feedback about the rules before they go into effect on January 1. DPC provided feedback to CMS regarding their end-stage renal disease (ESRD) Annual Payment rule. DPC's letter addresses the following important topics for improving ESRD patient care: Transitional Add-On Payment Adjustment for New and Innovative Equipment and Supplies Anemia Management Social Risk Factors and their Impact on the QIP The Need [...]

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Donor Protection Bill Signed into Law While Care Access Bill Now in the Hands of California Governor

2024-03-29T01:13:33+00:00September 23rd, 2019|Categories: Article, Charitable Premium Assistance, Dialysis Funding, Improve Access to Care, Increase Quality of Care, State Advocacy, Take Action, Transplant Donor Protection|

As temperatures cool and the California legislature winds down from a flurry of late summer activity, two bills that would impact kidney disease patients recently landed on Governor Newsom’s desk for his signature or veto. We’re thrilled that the bill seeking to increase access to transplants by strengthening protections for living organ donors was just signed into law. This bill passed unanimously in the Senate, after a similar unanimous passage in the Assembly earlier this year. DPC supports this bill because it helps remove barriers for kidney donors. Specifically, it requires employers to extend an employee’s unpaid leave up to [...]

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