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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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Action Alert – Urge Your Legislators to Help Dialysis Patients by Supporting the Kidney Bill

2024-03-29T01:13:33+00:00September 17th, 2019|Categories: Article, Medigap Coverage, Take Action|

Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) works hard to promote financial security as financial hardships are common for many people with end-stage renal disease. Congress has introduced a bill that would decrease the financial burden experienced by many dialysis patients and improve their access to care. The bill—known as the Chronic Kidney Disease Improvement in Research and Treatment Act of 2019 (S. 1676/ H.R. 3912)—would amend current law to ensure ESRD patients under the age of 65 have access to Medigap plans. Without a supplemental insurance like Medigap, Medicare patients bear significant out-of-pocket expenses for physician visits, hospital admissions, and other services [...]

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DPC Advocates for Improved Patient Access to Care with State Lawmakers

2024-03-29T01:13:33+00:00September 11th, 2019|Categories: Article, Medigap Coverage, State Advocacy|

Last month, DPC spoke with lawmakers at the National Conference of State Legislatures about the importance of having access to a supplemental insurance like Medigap to help pay for the deductibles and co-pays not covered by Medicare. When Medigap plans were first introduced, Congress only guaranteed issue of these plans to traditional Medicare beneficiaries and therefore did not extend this protection to those who gain Medicare coverage prior to age 65, including people with end-stage renal disease. Currently, only 28 states offer Medigap plans to people on dialysis. People on dialysis face serious financial struggles in areas where Medigap coverage is not [...]

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DPC Comments on CMS Proposed Rule Regarding ESRD Treatment Choices Model Demonstration

2024-03-29T01:13:34+00:00September 4th, 2019|Categories: Access to Transplant, Comment Letter, Dental Coverage, Innovation, Medicaid, Transplant Donor Protection, Treatment Options|

In response to the Administration's announcement to improve kidney health in America, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a rule to implement a mandatory Medicare payment model designed to increase the number of home dialysis treatments and kidney transplants, all while reducing Medicare expenditures. The rule—referred to as the End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Treatment Choices Model (ETC Model)—would measure clinician and facility performance, as well as the rate of home dialysis and kidney transplants in selected geographic regions. These calculations would result in either an increase or decrease of Medicare funding to a particular facility or clinician, [...]

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Congressman Donald Payne Jr. Advocates for Dialysis Patients

2024-03-29T01:13:34+00:00June 25th, 2019|Categories: Advance Patient Choice, Article, Improve Access to Care, Increase Quality of Care, Promote Financial Security|

Congressman Donald Payne Jr. is a Representative for New Jersey's 10th congressional district. He has end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and receives in-center dialysis treatment multiple times a week. Payne spoke with advocates during DPC's 2019 Annual Fly-In about his experience with dialysis and the efforts he is taking to elevate the patient voice. Payne's incidence with kidney failure is similar to the stories shared by thousands of people on dialysis. The progression of his diabetes led to the decline in his kidney function, and Payne speaks openly about his struggle to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Establishing dialysis access has been a [...]

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Take Action to Protect Dialysis Access in Oregon

2024-03-29T01:13:35+00:00April 2nd, 2019|Categories: Charitable Premium Assistance, Dialysis Funding, Improve Access to Care, State Advocacy|

Receiving dialysis treatment three times a week is critical for the survival of the 6,000 patients in Oregon with End-Stage Renal Disease, or kidney failure. Unfortunately, this access to treatment is being threatened with Senate Bill 900, which may disrupt the provider network dialysis patients rely on and lower the quality of care they depend on. Specifically, we are concerned that SB 900 will cut reimbursement rates private insurance companies pay to cover dialysis care. These reimbursement rates are crucial to dialysis facilities because Medicare does not cover the full cost of care for treating dialysis patients. Reduced payments may [...]

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