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DPC Hosts Successful Advocacy Day
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DPC Hosts Successful Advocacy Day

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:29+00:00April 30th, 2016|Categories: Article, Care Coordination, Medicare Advantage|Tags: Advocacy Day|

After weeks of planning, Dialysis Patient Citizens welcomed 30 patients and family members to Washington, D.C. to meet with their legislators on a beautiful spring day in April for our annual advocacy day. As you may know, last year our advocates were snowed in so we were very grateful for the warmer temperatures this time around! The patient ambassadors who attended this year’s advocacy day traveled from 20 different states and had experience with all modalities; transplant, in-center hemodialysis, home hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. We were also fortunate to welcome 15 partners in care; nurses, social workers and facility administrators [...]

DPC Delivers Speech on the Importance of Charitable Assistance for Insurance Premiums

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:29+00:00April 19th, 2016|Categories: Article, Charitable Premium Assistance|

For decades, dialysis patients have received financial assistance from nonprofit organizations to help them maintain their private insurance or Medigap coverage. Recently, insurers started to reject these types of payments in an effort to purge kidney patients from their health plans. Jackson Williams, DPC’s Government Affairs Director, and Deborah Darcy, Director of Government Affairs at the American Kidney Fund, presented on this issue at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) National Meeting in New Orleans earlier this month. “For nearly 20 years, the American Kidney Fund has held a Federal Advisory Opinion that enables us to provide grants to [...]

Study: End Stage Renal Disease Patients Face Policy Barriers to Home Dialysis

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:30+00:00March 10th, 2016|Categories: Improve Access to Care, Increase Quality of Care, Innovation, Promote Financial Security, Treatment Options|

Current federal policies limit patient access to home dialysis, a treatment option that offers significant clinical and quality-of-life advantages, according to a report released today by Washington, DC-based economist Alex Brill of Matrix Global Advisors (MGA). As a result of policy barriers, Brill finds a key segment of the growing population of patients who have end-stage renal disease (ESRD) miss out on the important health and lifestyle benefits of home dialysis. Brill, formerly chief economist to the House Ways & Means Committee, also finds that innovation in the home dialysis market may not reach patients if barriers cannot be addressed. Fewer [...]

DPC Urges Members to Share Stories of Insurance Assistance from the American Kidney Fund

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:30+00:00March 10th, 2016|Categories: Article, Charitable Premium Assistance, Medigap Coverage|

For decades, dialysis patients have received financial assistance from the American Kidney Fund to help them maintain their private insurance or Medigap coverage. Recently, insurers started to reject those payments from AKF in an effort to purge kidney patients from their health plans. We ask you to please share your stories about the help that AKF has provided and about any problems you have experienced due to an insurance company refusing to take AKF payments. You need not give your name. Click here to take our survey.

DPC Encourages Participation in National Kidney Month Awareness

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:30+00:00March 10th, 2016|Categories: Article, Charitable Premium Assistance, Dialysis Funding, Get Involved, Take Action, Transplant Donor Protection, Uncategorized|

March is National Kidney Month, which provides you with the perfect opportunity to spread awareness by educating your community and your legislators about kidney disease and the importance of kidney health. You can find educational information on the website of our sister organization, the DPC Education Center to share with your family and community. Additionally, we can provide promotional materials for any awareness events you plan to hold in March. To request materials such as pens and squeezable kidneys, visit our materials request page or call us at 1-866-877-4242. On the legislative front, you can ask your member of Congress to [...]

DPC Sends Comment Letter on Chronic Care Working Group Document

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:30+00:00February 11th, 2016|Categories: Care Coordination, Medicare Advantage|

A document released by the Senate Chronic Care Working Group in December contains several policy proposals for the care of end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. DPC’s most recent e-newsletter outlined the proposal’s topics, which include opening Medicare Advantage plans to dialysis patients, and making Special Needs Plans permanent to better coordinate care. DPC recently submitted a letter commenting on these proposals. DPC supports the proposal to allow ESRD patients to enroll in Medicare Advantage (MA) plans without restrictions. Current guidelines prevent ESRD patients enrolled in traditional Medicare to enroll in Medicare Advantage plans. DPC encourages the working group to share comments they may receive [...]

DPC Submits Comments to Chronic Care Working Group Re: Medicare Advantage

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:30+00:00January 25th, 2016|Categories: Comment Letter, Medicare Advantage|

Hon. Johnny Isakson Hon. Mark Warner United States Senate Washington, DC 20510 Re: Comments to the Chronic Care Working Group Dear Senators Isakson and Warner: As America’s largest patient-led organization representing persons with end-stage renal disease, with over 28,000 members, Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) works to improve quality of life for dialysis patients through education and advocacy. We are grateful to the Working Group for its focus on how chronic illness care could be improved for patients with ESRD. As you know, ESRD patients represent a small portion of Medicare beneficiaries but a disproportionately large percentage of Medicare expenditures. Much [...]

Paper from Senate Group Focuses on Improving Access to Healthcare

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:30+00:00January 19th, 2016|Categories: Article, Care Coordination, Improve Access to Care, Medicare Advantage|

A recent document released by the Senate Chronic Care Working Group contains several policy proposals relating to the care of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. The working group was formed last year under by Senate Finance Committee as a way to explore potential bipartisan policy changes to improve health care. DPC was pleased to see that committee discuss many of our our policy priorities including: dialysis patient access to Medicare Advantage Plans, Telehealth for dialysis patients and the desire to make the successful Special Needs Plans permanent to better coordinate care for dialysis patients. Currently, patients who are eligible for [...]

2015 Year in Review

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:30+00:00January 19th, 2016|Categories: 5-Star Ratings, Access to Transplant, Article, Care Coordination, Charitable Premium Assistance, Dialysis Funding, Innovation, Medicare Advantage|Tags: Annual Accomplishments|

Happy New Year! In 2015, DPC leadership and its strong patient advocacy efforts at the state level fought to: prevent dramatic cuts to dialysis funding in Alabama and Illinois and preserve charity payments for dialysis patient premiums. Other highlights include: The opportunity for DPC CEO Hrant Jamgochian and board member Bob Lee to testify in front of the Oregon insurance commissioner on the discriminatory language found in two private insurance plans that would limit coverage for ESRD patients. The commissioner ruled against the language. DPC board member Danny Iniguez discussed health disparities in kidney disease at the National Black Caucus [...]

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 [...]

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