I have struggled with kidney disease my entire life. I was diagnosed with End Stage Renal Disease when I was 7 years old, and I finally went on dialysis in 2010 at age 26 when my kidneys failed.
While I was able to receive full coverage from private and public insurance providers due to the fact that I am legally blind, the sad reality is that many dialysis patients who aren’t disabled don’t have access to the full coverage they need for their treatments.
For that reason, it’s important that Congress passes The Jack Reynolds Memorial Medigap Expansion Act. This bipartisan bill would expand Medigap coverage to dialysis patients under age 65 and make sure that people get the medical care they need.
Before I received my kidney transplant in 2018, I met countless others during my 10 years on dialysis who didn’t get the coverage that I did. I witnessed patients who were forced to pay exorbitant amounts of money for lifesaving treatments, and others who would miss dialysis appointments altogether because of prohibitive travel costs.
No one struggling with kidney disease should have to face these challenges, and that’s why I’m counting on our lawmakers, like Rep. Rick Allen, Sens.Jon Ossoff, and Raphael Warnock, to pass this important legislation.
Kristi Flynn, Grovetown, Georgia
