As a dialysis patient and healthcare professional, I urge California’s state legislature, especially Sen. Caroline Menjivar (CA-20) and Assemblymember Nick Schultz (CA-44), to support Senate Bill 242. This bill expands access to affordable Medigap plans for all dialysis patients, regardless of age.
Kidney failure comes unexpectedly for most, as it did for me. Kidney failure requires routine dialysis treatment to stay alive while awaiting a transplant, and I spent two years on peritoneal dialysis before receiving a kidney and pancreas transplant.
Without reliable healthcare coverage, my transplant wouldn’t have been possible and I would have died simply because I am not 65 and live in this state. Unfortunately, many dialysis patients under 65 cannot afford the costs of care because California excludes them from purchasing Medigap plans to cover the costs Medicare doesn’t pay.
Californians with kidney failure should be able to access Medigap plans, just like it exists in other states. Expanding access to affordable Medigap would ease the burdens dialysis patients carry and give them hope that they will one day receive a transplant.
Gabriel Cooper, Burbank, California
