Promote Financial Security Archives - Page 33 of 37

DPC Urges CMS to Prioritize Patient Access

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:30+00:00January 19th, 2016|Categories: Access to Transplant, Care Coordination, Charitable Premium Assistance, Medicare Advantage, Medigap Coverage, Transportation Services|Tags: Health Insurance Exchange|

Last month, DPC sent a letter commenting on the “Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2017” proposed rule. This annual rule by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) contains proposed changes to the exchange plan coverage of the Affordable Care Act. DPC’s letter focuses on the importance of insurance coverage and network quality for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. One issue the letter comments on pertains to network adequacy. Network adequacy describes an insurance plan’s ability to provide a sufficient amount of in-network providers to subscribers in the plan. Suggestions to improve network adequacy include requiring all [...]

RE: CMS–9937–P: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; HHS Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2017

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:31+00:00December 21st, 2015|Categories: Advance Patient Choice, Charitable Premium Assistance, Comment Letter, Improve Access to Care|Tags: Health Insurance Exchange|

Andrew Slavitt Acting AdministratorCenters for Medicare and Medicaid Services 7500 Security BoulevardBaltimore, MD 21244RE: CMS–9937–P: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; HHS Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2017Dear Acting Administrator Slavitt,On behalf of the more than 430,000 patients who rely upon dialysis services, we appreciate the opportunity to comment on the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; HHS Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2017” Proposed Rule (Proposed Rule). We strongly encourage the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to protect the rights of all Americans to access coverage in the Marketplaces, consistent with the Affordable Care [...]

Medicaid-Eligible Dialysis Patients Not Fully Informed of Treatment Options, Survey Finds

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:31+00:00December 11th, 2015|Categories: Article, Medicaid, Treatment Options|

End-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients who receive Medicaid are less likely to be informed of home modality and transplantation options than patients covered by Medicare or commercial insurance, according to survey research DPC released earlier this month. DPC recently partnered with Baxter to facilitate a panel discussing these disparities at the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) Conference in Los Angeles, California. The DPC survey found that while about 74 percent of ESRD patients overall are informed about the option of home hemodialysis, there is an information gap of 17 percentage points between patients covered by Medicare (77%) and Medicaid [...]

Bipartisan Budget Deal Includes Lower Premium Hikes for Medicare Part B

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:31+00:00November 9th, 2015|Categories: Article, Promote Financial Security|

Earlier this week, the President signed a two-year bipartisan budget deal that changes the premium and deductible amounts for Medicare Part B plans. ESRD patients whose Medicare premiums are not deducted from their Social Security checks were initially facing a premium increase of 50 percent to $159 a month, but now will pay around $120 a month. The lower rate was established through a loan from the Treasury Department to the Supplemental Medical Insurance Trust Fund. The difference will be made up through monthly $3 repayment fees added onto beneficiaries’ premiums. The new rate also applies to patients who are under [...]

DPC and Patient Advocates Win Oregon Ruling on Discriminatory Insurance Practices

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:31+00:00November 9th, 2015|Categories: Article, Legal Defense, Promote Financial Security, State Advocacy|Tags: Health Insurance Exchange|

DPC and kidney advocates won a ruling from the Oregon insurance commissioner against discriminatory language in an insurance policy limiting coverage for ESRD patients. Bob Lee, a DPC Patient Ambassador and ESRD patient, and Hrant Jamgochian, Executive Director of DPC, attended a public hearing on the topic in Salem and presented testimony on behalf of DPC’s membership. The insurance commissioner ruled: Insurers are prohibited from discriminating based on health factors. Insurers may not require enrollment in Medicare, regardless of member entitlement or eligibility. Insurers providing information to members regarding Medicare benefits must ensure the information provided is factual. Insurer communication [...]

DPC Urges Department of Insurance to Protect Dialysis Patient Access in Oregon
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DPC Urges Department of Insurance to Protect Dialysis Patient Access in Oregon

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:31+00:00October 26th, 2015|Categories: Comment Letter, Private Insurance Coverage, Promote Financial Security, State Advocacy|Tags: Health Insurance Exchange|

Ms. Laura Cali, Insurance Commissioner Department of Consumer & Business Services Insurance Division PO Box 14480 Salem, Oregon 97309-0405 Re: Discrimination against end-stage renal disease patients by Regence health plan Dear Commissioner Cali: With 28,000 dialysis patient members, Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) is the nation’s largest patient-led organization representing individuals with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). I am writing on behalf of Oregon’s 3,821 dialysis patients, asking that you ensure that they are treated equitably by the Regence health insurance plan. Regulatory filings by this issuer indicate that its 2016 plan designs are incentivizing disenrollment of ESRD patients in favor of enrolling [...]

DPC Calls on Regulators to Investigate Insurer’s Renal Care Coverage Limitations

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:31+00:00October 9th, 2015|Categories: Article, Promote Financial Security, State Advocacy|Tags: Health Insurance Exchange|

Kidney advocates are reacting to an alarming trend in the commercial insurance industry: insurers are increasingly writing language into policy documents that attempt to exclude or limit coverage of renal care. DPC is alerting regulators at both the state and federal levels to the harm these limitations could have on patients and asking them to enforce the numerous laws that prohibit health plans from discriminating against people with ESRD. Federal law guarantees that ESRD patients may keep their private insurance coverage for up to 30 months before enrolling in Medicare. The law also requires that health plans cannot differentiate between [...]

DPC, Kidney Patient, Testify at Hearing on Surprise Medical Bills

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:31+00:00October 9th, 2015|Categories: Article, Legal Defense, Promote Financial Security, State Advocacy|Tags: Health Insurance Exchange|

DPC Policy Director Jackson Williams and Pittsburgh kidney patient Janice Nathan were among witnesses at a hearing held by Pennsylvania’s insurance commissioner on “surprise medical bills.” These are bills received from physicians who are outside of an insurer’s provider network even though they work inside facilities that are in-network. Janice Nathan’s primary care doctor recommended that she receive a cardiac stress test. Ms. Nathan checked her insurer’s provider directory and found an in-network facility to get the test. But when she received a cardiologist’s bill for $325—much more than the $50 co-pay she expected—she learned that the cardiologist who read [...]

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 [...]

Dialysis Patient Citizens

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