To the editor: Kidney failure changed everything for me. I was already grieving the loss of my husband, daughter, and grandson when I learned my high blood
pressure and diabetes had gone unchecked for years, leading to total kidney failure. Within weeks, I had to start dialysis.
The first day, I sat in my car and cried. I wasn’t just scared for my health, I was terrified of the financial toll. I now rely on Medicare and Medicaid, but even then, I have to pay out of pocket for critical medications and vitamins. I want to work, but I can’t. I had to give up driving and sometimes even eating, just to stretch my income. All of that while trying to stay healthy enough for a transplant, which brings its own medical and financial burdens. New treatments that could help manage pruritus, anemia, phosphorus levels, and even infection risk often aren’t accessible to patients like me because they aren’t covered. This system makes it nearly impossible for kidney patients to get ahead.
That’s why I’m urging congresswoman Gwen Moore, D-WI, to support the Kidney Care Access Protection Act (S. 2730/H.R. 9724). It would extend coverage for innovative treatments that could reduce complications and save lives.
We didn’t ask for kidney disease. But we do deserve a health care system that gives us a fighting chance.
Marcine Spoke, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
