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October 24, 2024

Check out our Patient Ambassador Spotlight, where we highlight members who elevate the voices of people with kidney disease.

This month’s Spotlight is on Jamal Felton from San Diego, California.

Jamal’s father suffers from end stage renal disease (ESRD) and has been receiving dialysis for over 18 years. As his father’s part-time care giver, Jamal knows how life-consuming and exhausting dialysis treatments are for patients. Unfortunately, he has also seen how many patients struggle to keep up with the expenses that are incurred by treatment and other health care costs. Many patients rely on their employer-provided private insurance, especially during the first months of care, but dialysis treatment can make it very challenging to continue working. Since most receive their diagnosis unexpectedly, having that insurance ensures continuity of care at a time where so much else in their lives is changing.

Jamal’s father insisted that he keep his private insurance in addition to his Veteran’s Affairs coverage so that he could choose his doctor. Keeping that insurance also increased his chance of a kidney transplant.

A recent Supreme Court decision made it easier for private insurers to weaken coverage for new dialysis patients tough, pushing them onto Medicare prematurely and imposing medical and financial hurdles in the process.

Jamal urges his representatives in Congress to support the Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act (H.R. 6860/ S. 5018), legislation that would guarantee new dialysis patients could keep full private coverage for the first 30 months of care.

Patient Ambassadors represent DPC by serving as leaders in their community and local dialysis facilities. Learn more about this critical role and make a difference in the lives of dialysis patients by applying for DPC's Patient Ambassador program.

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