Dialysis Patient Citizens News
I’ve had a kidney transplant and know these bills will help others
Before I was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease while I was pregnant with my son, I knew nothing about kidney disease. I never would have imagined all the different things that go into treating it, and what it would eventually be like to go on dialysis. Once I did start dialysis in 2016, I found myself in a whole different world. I remember just being overwhelmed learning about it all, and asking myself how I would possibly find a donor as I prepared each day for overnight [...]
Cover the Medigap
As a dialysis patient, one-time kidney transplant recipient, and a dialysis tech of 12 years, I’ve seen kidney care from just about every angle. I was fortunate to have insurance through my job which meant I didn’t have to deal with the out-of-pocket costs and hassle that sometimes come with Medicare, but that’s not true for everyone. Instead, they rely only on Medicare, and if it doesn’t cover certain costs, they can get stuck with a huge bill. Lawmakers can help change that by passing bills like [...]
TX Kidney Patients Eager for a Transplant Need Medigap Expansion
It took me two doctors' visits to get a liver transplant. It was a fairly seamless process all things considered, but the medications eventually cost me my only kidney and forced me onto dialysis. Getting a kidney transplant couldn't be more different, Just getting on the list feels like I'm running in circles, with constant tests and never any progress or solution. I've spent years on dialysis, which has changed my life drastically and even cost me a job I loved because I couldn't travel as much [...]
Kidney disease patients need coverage, new Medigap bill
I’ve battled kidney disease for over half my life, experiencing one failed kidney transplant and 16 years on dialysis — all before my 30th birthday. Fortunately, I’m able to receive full coverage for the cost of the treatments and medications I need to fight my kidney disease. However, I know there are other patients out there who can’t say the same thing. Many dialysis patients struggle to afford the basic care they need since Medicare doesn’t always cover the cost of the treatments and medications needed to [...]
Don’t Miss the Opportunity to Review and/or Change your Medicare Health Plan
As a friendly reminder, the Medicare Open Enrollment period takes place annually from October 15 through December 7. This is your chance to review your current medical and prescription drug plan(s) to take note of any changes in the cost or coverage and, if needed, switch to another plan that may better meet your medical needs, save you money or both. Eligible enrollees have the option to select Original Medicare or opt for a Medicare Advantage plan. When considering Original Medicare, be sure to check if you’re eligible [...]
Dialysis patients need support from lawmakers
Dear Editor: This December marks three years in my battle with kidney disease. My kidney failure diagnosis was hard to pin down, and without my husband, I am not sure I would still be here. My diagnosis came with a lot of things you’d expect: many hours spent in doctors’ offices and at dialysis treatment centers. What I didn’t know is that this diagnosis would also eventually put me in the hospital, with medical bills racking up the entire time Of course, dialysis alone is expensive, especially [...]
Health Management Associates Find Minimal Cost to Enacting Jack Reynolds Memorial Medigap Expansion Act
Updated October 5, 2021 Last week, DPC released a report by Health Management Associates (HMA) detailing the costs associated with the passage of the Jack Reynolds Memorial Medigap Expansion Act (H.R. 1676), which would require insurers to make Medigap plans available to End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) patients under the age of 65. Health policy experts often criticize Medigap's relief from cost sharing as adding to Medicare expenditures. However, using Medicare cost data from 2017-2019, HMA estimated that extending Medigap coverage to all ESRD patients under the age [...]
New bill offers much help for kidney patients
For four years, I have served my community as a social worker dedicated to helping dialysis patients. I have seen both the everyday problems kidney patients face and the larger issues with how our health care system handles them. There are a lot of obstacles that require more attention. Many patients on dialysis require trips to centers for treatments several times per week, and major problems arise when patients don’t have transportation to their treatment centers. When patients can’t get to the center, they fall behind on [...]
New bill would help dialysis patients
While I’ve never been diagnosed with it myself, kidney disease has touched just about every facet of my life. At home and at work, I’ve experienced firsthand just how much it can change a person’s life. From the treatments and waiting for a transplant, to the overwhelming financial challenges that can come with it, dialysis brings its own set of difficulties that are hard to fully understand unless you or someone you love is going through it. Kidney disease runs in my husband’s family, so we always knew he [...]
New bill for dialysis patients
It’s been four and a half years since my first kidney transplant failed after 18 years. For me, that’s meant many of the all-too-familiar challenges of being on dialysis have become part of my day-to-day life once again, including the long and exhausting treatments and all of the other health struggles that come with them. Part of what makes being on dialysis so tough is that it’s often difficult to get the coverage you need. I, for example, have found it difficult to get coverage for dental [...]
Dialysis patients need help to close Medicare gap
I’ve seen firsthand why Medigap coverage expansion is needed for dialysis patients, which is the goal of HR 1676, a bill introduced in Congress earlier this year. Since my kidney transplant in 2018, I have gone to dialysis clinics all over to help prepare kidney disease patients for their own transplants. Everywhere I go, I hear from patients struggling to afford the care they need. After a fall from a ladder, I woke up a month later in the hospital and discovered my kidneys had shut down. [...]
DPC Advocates Take Congress by Web Storm
DPC held its annual Congressional Advocacy Day on September 21st, which was another great success! More than a hundred and fifty DPC Patient Ambassadors, Board members, staff and dialysis partners participated in nearly 200 Congressional meetings throughout the day to lobby on two important federal bills that would provide greater financial security and improve the quality of life for dialysis patients: The Jack Reynolds Memorial Medigap Expansion Act (H.R. 1676) would expand guaranteed issue rights to Medicare supplemental health insurance policies, known as Medigap, to all End [...]
Check Out DPC’s New Interactive Medigap Report Card
If you’re a dialysis patient under age 65 looking to purchase a Medigap plan, DPCs new interactive Medigap Report Card will help you understand the availability of Medigap coverage in your state. Medicare Supplemental Insurance, or Medigap, is provided by private insurance companies. While federal law requires insurers to offer Medigap coverage to Medicare enrollees upon turning age 65, that protection does not extend to individuals under age 65 who are Medicare enrollees due to a diagnosis of End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). Providing accessible, affordable Medigap coverage [...]
Alabama kidney patients need Congress to support Medigap Expansion Bill
Since I started dialysis in 2018, I’ve been lucky to have coverage that supplements Medicare and helps to keep my costs down. Even with that added coverage, though, I’ve noticed it is tough to afford all of the medicines I need. For patients without the additional coverage I have, that cost is even higher. When Medicare doesn’t pay for medication or dialysis treatment. That money comes out of their pocket, and the financial burden is just too much for some patients to take on. For the many [...]
Legislations would provide help for dialysis patients
I’ve lived on dialysis for 22 years, but there was a time when my kidney disease almost took my life. Through dialysis and a failed kidney transplant, though, I’ve done my best to stay upbeat and am excited to get another transplant kidney soon, hopefully. While it’s been a tough road, I’ve at least had the coverage I need to pay for my treatments. A lot of patients I’ve met only have Medicare, which doesn’t always cover their treatments and medications. Instead, they have to pay out-of-pocket [...]
Dialysis patients need Medigap expansion bill
It’s been 34 years since my brother donated his kidney to me and changed my life for the better. Now, we do what we can to support dialysis patients in our area and help people better understand just what challenges patients face every single day. For a lot of them, it all comes back to coverage. As a transplant recipient, it’s a major problem that I’ve experienced firsthand. Three years after my transplant, I lost the coverage I had and needed to turn to other plans that [...]
Letter: Bill can ease costs
Starting dialysis 12 years ago at 28 completely changed my life. I had to begin going to a clinic for the hours-long treatments that dialysis involves, and the treatments, as well as their effects, forced me to end my career as an EMT. It was a difficult adjustment to make, but I’ve at least been fortunate enough to have supplemental insurance coverage through my wife’s work that helps to cover the cost of my treatments. Without that additional coverage, we’d have to find a way to make [...]
Letter: Help for dialysis patients
Dialysis brings a lot of challenges, but one of the biggest is simply getting the coverage you need. The treatments make it very challenging for patients like me to work a traditional job, which means many of us do not have employer-sponsored insurance and rely on Medicare. If it doesn’t cover a specific medication or treatment, we have no choice but to pay out-of-pocket or get an expensive supplementary plan. That could change with a new bill called the Jack Reynolds Memorial Medigap Expansion Act. It would [...]
New Kidney Care Bills Vital for Expanding Coverage & Reducing Costs
Starting dialysis seven years ago was a bit of a rude awakening. I had to accept that my day-to-day life had changed, and that I’d now need to devote significant time each week just to go through treatments. One of the most challenging parts of the process, though, was learning the ins and outs of the healthcare system. It was a difficult adjustment, but I’ve been lucky enough to have coverage that takes care of my dialysis treatments and the medications I need. However, I know through [...]
LETTER: Expand Medigap and help dialysis patients get the care they need
I was only 19 years old when I was diagnosed with kidney disease. Because I was under 65, Medicare didn’t cover the full costs of treatments and medications throughout my 10 tough years on dialysis, and I was forced to make difficult choices between the care I needed and basic needs like groceries. A new bill, however, the Jack Reynolds Memorial Medigap Expansion Act, would change that by expanding Medigap coverage to dialysis patients under the age of 65. This bipartisan bill would make sure that every [...]