Governor Perdue Signs Medigap Legislation into Law, Helping Thousands of Georgia Kidney Failure Patients and the Disabled Access Needed Medical Care

State’s Kidney Community Praises Georgia General Assembly for Swiftly Passing Legislation to Expand Patient Access to Insurance Coverage, Save Millions for Taxpayers

May 24, 2010, ATLANTA, GA – Governor Sonny Perdue on Friday signed landmark, bi-partisan legislation approved with overwhelming support in the state legislature which provides access to Medigap secondary coverage for Georgia’s end stage renal disease (ESRD) and disabled patients who are struggling to access needed medical care due to financial barriers.

The bill will provide first-time access to Medigap coverage for Georgia’s Medicare beneficiaries under age 65, including ESRD patients.  Medicare beneficiaries over age 65 are already able to purchase Medigap as secondary coverage, and with this legislation, Georgia joins 29 other states already offering access to Medigap for beneficiaries under age 65.

“On behalf of the thousands of kidney failure patients across Georgia, I commend the state’s lawmakers for recognizing the value of this patient-centric legislation and supporting its enactment during this year’s legislative session,” said Chad Lennox, Executive Director of the Dialysis Patient Citizens, a national non-profit patient advocacy organization that represents more than 1,300 members of the kidney community across the state. “DPC is proud to have helped usher in this additional access to care for some of our most vulnerable patients, and now that it is in place, we are dedicated to ensuring that information about this important coverage is accessible to the patients that need it most.”
 
Under federal law, individuals over age 65 as well as those under 65 who meet certain conditions, including the diagnosis of ESRD, are eligible for Medicare coverage.  Medicare covers most medical costs, but requires beneficiaries to pay their own deductibles and co-pays.  Patients unable to afford these out-of-pocket expenses often must rely upon the Medicaid program and can sometimes experience potentially dangerous delays in care.

Though most patients have secondary insurance to help with these costs, approximately 2,000 kidney disease patients in Georgia have no secondary coverage and cannot afford their expensive medical costs.  As a result, these patients are often forced to “spend down” their assets and enter the state Medicaid program for support.  Recent estimates indicate that expanded access to Medigap coverage will keep more patients out of the program, therefore leading to approximately $20 million in savings to the state’s Medicaid program – and Georgia taxpayers – in the next five years.