Dialysis Patient Citizens News
Action Alert – Urge Your Legislators to Help Dialysis Patients by Supporting the Kidney Bill
Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) works hard to promote financial security as financial hardships are common for many people with end-stage renal disease. Congress has introduced a bill that would decrease the financial burden experienced by many dialysis patients and improve their access to care. The bill—known as the Chronic Kidney Disease Improvement in Research and Treatment Act of 2019 (S. 1676/ H.R. 3912)—would amend current law to ensure ESRD patients under the age of 65 have access to Medigap plans. Without a supplemental insurance like Medigap, Medicare [...]
DPC Advocates for Improved Patient Access to Care with State Lawmakers
Last month, DPC spoke with lawmakers at the National Conference of State Legislatures about the importance of having access to a supplemental insurance like Medigap to help pay for the deductibles and co-pays not covered by Medicare. When Medigap plans were first introduced, Congress only guaranteed issue of these plans to traditional Medicare beneficiaries and therefore did not extend this protection to those who gain Medicare coverage prior to age 65, including people with end-stage renal disease. Currently, only 28 states offer Medigap plans to people on dialysis. [...]
DPC Comments on CMS Proposed Rule Regarding ESRD Treatment Choices Model Demonstration
In response to the Administration's announcement to improve kidney health in America, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a rule to implement a mandatory Medicare payment model designed to increase the number of home dialysis treatments and kidney transplants, all while reducing Medicare expenditures. The rule—referred to as the End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Treatment Choices Model (ETC Model)—would measure clinician and facility performance, as well as the rate of home dialysis and kidney transplants in selected geographic regions. These calculations would result in either [...]
Dialysis Issues Are Heating Up in California
With summer temperatures on the rise, so too are kidney care issues both nationally and in California, where dialysis policies in particular remain hot button topics despite the defeat of Proposition 8 last November by a relatively wide margin. In an effort to protect dialysis patients’ access to quality care, DPC continues to elevate the patient voice with policy makers while also committing even more resources on the ground. In fact, DPC recently established a new advocacy office in Sacramento less than a block from the State Capitol. We [...]
DPC’s 2019 Annual Membership Survey is Live!
Elevate the Voice of Patients with Kidney Disease and Their Caregivers Fellow kidney patients and family members, our 2019 Annual Membership Survey is live, and it will remain open until Friday, August 16. This survey takes your input as a patient with kidney disease and helps to shape our public policy agenda and patient education priorities for the next year. This year we are also surveying family caregivers of dialysis patients. In addition to determining Dialysis Patient Citizen's priorities, we regularly communicate survey results to state and federal level policy [...]
DPC Advances Quality of Care and Patient Choice
DPC supports an adequately funded treatment infrastructure that offers stable and convenient sources of care that rewards performance and incentivizes quality outcomes. In addition, we are committed to ensuring access to all forms of treatment for end-stage renal disease, including transplantation. As a result, we work closely with others within the renal community to advocate for adequate policy solutions that encourage organ donation and protect patients' health. In order for patients to make educated decisions about their care, they need transparency and accountability. A bill that was introduced [...]
The Administration’s Plan to Improve Quality of Life and Patient Choice for Dialysis Patients
President Donald J. Trump thanks DPC Board Member Nancy Scott prior to signing an Executive Order on Advancing American Kidney Health Wednesday, July 10, 2019, at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead) "I did dialysis. I did not let it do me." Those powerful words were shared by DPC Board Member Nancy Scott shortly before President Trump signed an Executive Order centered around improving kidney health in America on July 10, 2019. Scott [...]
Pictures for DPC’s 2019 Advocacy Day Are Here!
Advocates spent a day of training getting up to speed on the latest legislation impacting the kidney community, which included presentations by Representative Donald Payne Jr. and DPC CEO Hrant Jamgochian. A rooftop reception followed where advocates strategized about the next day's meetings on Capitol Hill. The event culminated with over 100 meetings with lawmakers and their legislative staff about improving dialysis patient care. Below are the photos from DPC's Advocacy Day: If you are interested in making a difference in your community by elevating the voice [...]
Congressman Donald Payne Jr. Advocates for Dialysis Patients
Congressman Donald Payne Jr. is a Representative for New Jersey's 10th congressional district. He has end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and receives in-center dialysis treatment multiple times a week. Payne spoke with advocates during DPC's 2019 Annual Fly-In about his experience with dialysis and the efforts he is taking to elevate the patient voice. Payne's incidence with kidney failure is similar to the stories shared by thousands of people on dialysis. The progression of his diabetes led to the decline in his kidney function, and Payne speaks openly about [...]
DPC Rallies Over 60 Advocates on Capitol Hill
Activists from across the country gathered on Capitol Hill to advocate on behalf of dialysis patients at DPC's Annual Advocacy Day on June 11, 1019. Advocates represented 26 different states and had over 100 meetings with Members of Congress and their legislative staff. The focus of the Hill discussions centered around preserving access to Charitable Assistance and ensuring access to Medigap for all dialysis patients. Charitable Assistance Charitable Assistance is financial assistance a patient may receive from certain organizations to help with medical bills or premium payments. One [...]
Advocacy Day Insights and Action Alerts During June’s Patient Ambassador Call
Join us next month on June 20th at 2:00 pm ET for our upcoming Patient Ambassador call. We will have special guest speakers to discuss the inside scoop learned during DPC's fly-in and the actions you can take to help kidney patients. Please RSVP to let us know you can attend the call. Learn more about our Patient Ambassador program. Call Details are below: Date: Thursday, June 20, 2019 Time: 2:00 PM ET, 1:00 PM CT, 12:00 PM MT, 11:00 AM PT Follow these instructions at the time of the call: [...]
DPC Advocates for New Treatment Research and Innovations
Dialysis Patient Citizens continues to work hard advocating to increase quality of care for patients. We are supporting a house bill that encourages research and innovations to provide patients with hope and new treatment options. This is an important issue because there has been little progress made in treatment for dialysis patients when compared to other diseases. In addition, advances in dialysis care could astronomically improve the lives of millions of Americans with kidney disease. We will continue to work hard to improve the dialysis patient quality of life [...]
How Medicare Can Improve Dialysis Patient Quality of Life
Dialysis Patient Citizens helps patients by working to improve access to care, promote financial security, increase quality of care and advance patient choice. Two leading members of the US Senate Committee on Finance, which oversees the Medicare program, recently raised concerns to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on issues impacting the care of dialysis patients. Many of these items align with our priorities to improve the quality of life for patients with end-stage renal disease. Emphasis was placed on the following dialysis-care issues: better sustainability for new treatment [...]
DPC’s Letter to the California Assembly About Quality Ratings
Assembly Member Jim Wood Chair Committee on Health State Capitol, Room 6005 Sacramento, CA 95814 Assembly Member Chad Mayes Vice Chair Committee on Health State Capitol, Room 6005 Sacramento, CA 95814 Re: Support for AB 1448 Dear Chairman Wood and Vice Chairman Mayes: With 32,000 dialysis patient members, over 4,000 of whom reside in California, Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) is the nation’s largest patient-led organization representing individuals with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). On behalf of California’s 70,000 ESRD patients and the [...]
Help DPC Protect Dialysis Access in Oregon, Illinois and California
Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) continues to work hard protecting dialysis patients by opposing three bills that would threaten access to quality care if passed. More than 468,000 Americans rely on dialysis treatments to stay alive. Unfortunately, this access to treatment is being threatened with three bills, which may disrupt the provider network dialysis patients rely on and lower the quality of care they depend on. These bills are: Senate Bill 900 – Oregon Senate Bill 650 – Illinois Assembly Bill 290 – California Specifically, we are concerned that these [...]
How the Government is Combatting Kidney Disease in the United States
The U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), Alex M. Azar II, discussed the future of kidney health in a speech last month. Azar has a personal connection with the disease as his father had end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and had to go to dialysis multiple times a week. His father was no longer working full-time when the treatment began, making the condition easier to manage. Azar's father later underwent peritoneal dialysis, calling the treatment a "revolutionary change" in his father's lifestyle, and ultimately received a transplant [...]
Take Action to Protect Dialysis Access in Oregon
Receiving dialysis treatment three times a week is critical for the survival of the 6,000 patients in Oregon with End-Stage Renal Disease, or kidney failure. Unfortunately, this access to treatment is being threatened with Senate Bill 900, which may disrupt the provider network dialysis patients rely on and lower the quality of care they depend on. Specifically, we are concerned that SB 900 will cut reimbursement rates private insurance companies pay to cover dialysis care. These reimbursement rates are crucial to dialysis facilities because Medicare does not [...]
Action Alert – DPC Supports Expanding Access to Organ Transplants in California
Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) continues its efforts to improve the quality of life for dialysis patients by advocating for an assembly bill in California that would expand access to organ transplants. Danny Iniguez, Secretary of DPC's Board of Directors and a resident of California, expressed the importance of passing Assembly Bill 1223 by highlighting the positive impact on both patients and organ donors and sharing his childhood experience with kidney failure. Starting at age 12 Iniguez was on and off dialysis as a result of a bicycle [...]
Kidney Community Blocks Threats to Charitable Assistance and Dialysis Funding in California
By Megan Hashbarger, Director of Congressional and State Relations, Dialysis Patient Citizens Dialysis Patients Citizen’s (DPC) mission is to improve dialysis citizens’ quality of life. As a result, we have played an important role in increasing patient access to: health insurance coverage, care coordination, medications and innovative therapies. While we work hard to improve public policies for patients, sometimes we are put on defense to protect our previous hard-fought victories. One of the most important tools for protecting patient choice and access to insurance coverage is the [...]
Insights from the Dialysis Patient Citizens 2018 Patient Survey: Patients’ Priorities for Quality Measures and New Innovations in ESRD Care
By Jackson Williams, Director of Regulatory Affairs and General Counsel, Dialysis Patient Citizens Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) thanks everyone who completed its 2018 Patient Survey. It is another way to make your voices heard. We use our patient survey to get your input on current issues and to convey your opinions to policymakers in Washington, DC. This year, our survey included questions on two recent developments in Washington: Medicare’s “Meaningful Measures” Initiative: In early 2018, Medicare officials announced plans to reduce the number of quality measures it [...]