Promote Financial Security Archives - Page 38 of 40

DPC Fly-In Participants Lobby Members of Congress Despite Snow Storm, Government Closure
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DPC Fly-In Participants Lobby Members of Congress Despite Snow Storm, Government Closure

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:33+00:00March 11th, 2015|Categories: Article, Medicare Advantage|Tags: Advocacy Day|

DPC’s annual Kidney Month fly-in was held last Wednesday and Thursday (March 4 & 5). Patient advocates from across the country flew to Washington, DC to speak with their Members of Congress on issues critical to their care. And despite numerous obstacles, they made sure their voices were heard. On March 4, patient advocates participated in an in-depth advocacy training, as many were going to Capitol Hill for the first time. This training helped to ensure that participants had the information and confidence to discuss the importance of preserving dialysis funding as well as why dialysis patients should be allowed [...]

DPC Urges Arizona to Maintain Medicaid Reimbursement for Dialysis

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:34+00:00February 27th, 2015|Categories: Comment Letter, Medicaid, State Advocacy|

Governor Doug Ducey 1700 West Washington St. Phoenix, AZ 85007 RE: Proposed Cuts to Medicaid Coverage Dear Governor Ducey, As America’s largest patient-led organization representing over 28,000 members, Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) works to improve the quality of life of all dialysis patients through education and advocacy. Dialysis is a life-sustaining care delivered to over 12,400 patients in Arizona who have End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), also known as kidney failure. For those with ESRD, receiving regular dialysis or a kidney transplant are the only treatments that allow patients to continue living. The number of individuals with kidney failure continues to [...]

Affordable Care Act Enrollment Reaches 9.5 Million as February 15 Deadline Approaches

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:34+00:00February 4th, 2015|Categories: Promote Financial Security|Tags: Affordable Care Act|

Open enrollment for individual coverage in the Affordable Care Act (ACA)’s public health insurance exchanges began in November of last year. The deadline for enrollment is February 15, 2015. So far approximately 9.5 million people have either newly enrolled or re-enrolled in the exchanges, with 7.1 million enrolling in the 37 states that use the federal marketplace, HealthCare.gov. Of those 7.1 million, approximately 6.2 million received financial assistance to help pay for coverage. Also, 4.16 million re-enrolled in health plans, and 3 million selected a plan for the first time. Again, thank you to the patients who have shared stories with [...]

Response Memo: FAQs Regarding Medicare and the Health Insurance Marketplace

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:35+00:00September 24th, 2014|Categories: Comment Letter, Promote Financial Security|Tags: Health Insurance Exchange|

To: James Canavan, Center for Medicare, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Spencer Manasse, Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, CMS Vicki Gottlich, Administration for Community Living Gene Coffey, Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services, CMS Janet Miller, Office of Communications, CMS Sharon Donovan, Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Office, CMS Re: Comments on “Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Medicare and the Marketplace” We appreciate that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Administration for Community Living (ACL) arranged a July meeting for beneficiary advocates to discuss our questions and concerns related to beneficiary transitions from coverage options created under [...]

Kidney Care Bill Introduced in U.S. House of Representatives
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Kidney Care Bill Introduced in U.S. House of Representatives

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T02:08:05+00:00June 30th, 2014|Categories: Article, Care Coordination, Medicare Advantage, Treatment Options|

Congressmen John Lewis (D-GA) and Tom Marino (R-PA) have introduced the Chronic Kidney Disease Improvement in Research and Treatment Act in the U.S. House of Representatives. Lewis and Marino are leaders on the Congressional Kidney Caucus and have been staunch supporters of dialysis patients over the years. This bill seeks to advance several proactive kidney care policy initiatives and provides a vehicle for educating Members of Congress and the public about the issues facing kidney disease patients and the kidney community as a whole. The bill would: Improve understanding of kidney disease: The legislation seeks to identify the gaps in critical [...]

Kidney Community Rallies for Key Victory in Louisiana
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Kidney Community Rallies for Key Victory in Louisiana

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T02:08:05+00:00June 3rd, 2014|Categories: Article, Charitable Premium Assistance, State Advocacy|

Recently, Blue Cross Blue Shield stopped accepting third party payments for medical premiums in the new health exchanges. This meant that dialysis patients in the state of Louisiana could not use financial assistance from organizations such as the American Kidney Fund (AKF) to subsidize their premium costs. Nearly 2,000 low-income Louisiana dialysis patients rely on help from assistance organizations to maintain their access to health insurance. For people with kidney failure, the out-of-pocket treatment costs are very high, and it is particularly challenging for a person on dialysis to remain employed because of the frequent treatment schedule (typically three times [...]

The Senior Medicare Patrol Program Helps Medicare Beneficiaries Prevent, Detect, and Report Health Care Fraud

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T02:08:05+00:00May 5th, 2014|Categories: Article, Promote Financial Security|

By Ginny Paulson, SMP Resource Center Director Medicare loses billions each year due to fraud, error, and abuse. This not only compromises the Medicare Trust Fund, but individual beneficiaries’ future benefits and health are placed at risk as well. This problem is being addressed at many levels of government, including the nationwide Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) program. SMPs work at the grass roots level in all 50 states plus Washington D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The SMP mission is to empower and assist Medicare beneficiaries, their families, and caregivers to prevent, detect, and report health care fraud, [...]

Re: Support for S.B. 403

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T02:08:06+00:00May 1st, 2014|Categories: Charitable Premium Assistance, Comment Letter, State Advocacy|

Louisiana House Insurance Committee 900 North Third Street Baton Rouge, LA 70804 Re: Support for S.B. 403 Dear Chairman Cromer and Committee, As America’s largest patient-led organization representing over 27,000 members, Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) works to improve the quality of life of all dialysis patients through education and advocacy. Today we are writing on behalf of the over 6,000 dialysis patients in Louisiana to support S.B. 403, which allows third-party payments for premiums. BlueCross Blue Shield of Louisiana (BCBSLA) recently instituted a new policy of no longer accepting thirdparty payments for premiums. We believe this policy is detrimental to [...]

Re: Discrimination Against Dialysis Patients by BlueCross Blue Shield of Louisiana

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T02:08:06+00:00April 8th, 2014|Categories: Charitable Premium Assistance, Comment Letter, State Advocacy|Tags: Health Insurance Exchange|

Phyllis Borzi, Assistant Secretary Employee Benefits Security Administration Department of Labor Washington, DC John P. Albert, Director Division of Medicare Secondary Payer Policy Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Baltimore, MD Re: Discrimination against dialysis patients by BlueCross Blue Shield of Louisiana Dear Ms. Borzi and Mr. Albert: As America’s largest patient-led organization representing over 27,000 members, Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) works to improve the quality of life of all dialysis patients through education and advocacy. Today we are writing on behalf of the over 6,000 dialysis patients in Louisiana to request inquiries into the new BlueCross Blue Shield of [...]

DPC Advocates Fly to Washington for 2014 World Kidney Fly-in
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DPC Advocates Fly to Washington for 2014 World Kidney Fly-in

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T02:08:06+00:00April 1st, 2014|Categories: Article, Dialysis Funding, Improve Access to Care, Promote Financial Security|Tags: Advocacy Day|

DPC advocates flew to Washington, DC for our 2014 World Kidney Day Fly-in. Twenty-six patients and family members were joined by 19 provider representatives from 24 states. Advocates conducted 94 meetings with Members of Congress and their staff. This year, we asked Congress to protect funding for the Medicare ESRD program and to open Medicare Part C to people on dialysis. Take a look at these pictures for the full story. The patients in the these pictures are our most active Patient Ambassadors. If you are interested in becoming a strong advocate for people with kidney disease, join the Patient Ambassador program! [...]

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