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About Hannah Bracamonte

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So far Hannah Bracamonte has created 649 blog entries.

Dialysis Patient Citizens Applauds Nevada Governor Signing Legislation Expanding Access to Affordable Medigap Coverage for Dialysis Patients

2025-06-09T17:58:42+00:00June 9th, 2025|Categories: Medigap Coverage, Patient Ambassadors, Press Release, Promote Financial Security, Protect Patient Care, State Advocacy|

Carson City, NV (June 9, 2025) – Governor Joe Lombardo (R-NV) and the Nevada State Legislature have taken a historic step to ensure affordable access to Medicare Supplement Insurance plans, also known as Medigap, to Medicare enrollees under age 65, including Nevada residents with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). Senate Bill 292, sponsored and championed by Senator Roberta Lange (D-NV-7), passed the Senate unanimously and the Assembly with overwhelming bipartisan support (39-3), and it was signed into law by Governor Lombardo. SB 292 guarantees that dialysis patients under 65-years-old in Nevada have access to affordable Medigap coverage, filling dire gaps in [...]

Support Medigap Plans

2025-06-04T20:42:29+00:00June 2nd, 2025|Categories: Medigap Coverage, Patient Ambassadors, Patient Stories in the News, Promote Financial Security|

I have end-stage renal disease (ESRD), or kidney failure. My journey began after a serious accident at age 12 caused my kidneys to fail. My mother selflessly donated one of her kidneys, which lasted about eight years. At 20, my body began rejecting the transplant, and I had to start dialysis—a taxing but life-saving treatment done three times a week to filter the blood. The transition was overwhelming. I often rode a bus to San Francisco at 6 a.m. and returned home at midnight. Like many others, I had to adjust to a difficult new normal. After 16 years on [...]

Support a state law that helps those living in an insurance gap

2025-06-04T20:40:12+00:00May 29th, 2025|Categories: Medigap Coverage, Patient Ambassadors, Patient Stories in the News, Promote Financial Security|

I’ve been living with kidney failure since 2019. Like so many Californians, I’ve faced more than just one diagnosis—diabetes, high blood pressure, gastroparesis, gout—and even the amputation of my foot due to sepsis. Dialysis, an intensive treatment done three times per week to keep me alive, has permanently affected my life. But I’ve fought every step of the way to stay strong and keep pursuing my goals. I returned to school at age 37, majoring in nutrition and dietetics to learn how food could help heal my body. I plan on pursuing another degree in sociology as well. Unfortunately, thousands [...]

Medical funding

2025-06-05T15:18:48+00:00May 26th, 2025|Categories: Medigap Coverage, Patient Ambassadors, Patient Stories in the News, Promote Financial Security|

I was diagnosed with kidney failure at 34. I lacked formal education about the disease, and within a year I began losing my sight to diabetic retinopathy. I’m now legally blind and depend on others for daily tasks. It’s been a difficult journey, but I’ve grown as a person throughout it. Patients like me shouldn’t have to worry about finances. I’m lucky enough to afford dialysis, a frequent treatment that filters my blood since my kidneys can’t, since it’s covered by Medicare and charitable donations. I remember paying out of pocket for a few months at the beginning of my [...]

Texas Medigap Update – May 2025

2025-05-22T19:46:41+00:00May 22nd, 2025|Categories: Article, Medigap Coverage, Promote Financial Security, Protect Patient Care, State Advocacy|

Texas House Bill 2516 was unanimously approved by the House Insurance Committee and passed off the House Floor with overwhelming bipartisan support (130-19). This legislation, which will provide affordable access to Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap) to individuals who are under age 65 with ESRD, is now in the Texas Senate. HB 2516 recently passed unanimously out of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee and is expected to be heard on the Senate Floor shortly. Throughout the legislative process, we’ve had nearly 20 Texas legislators join author Representative Ryan Guillen to support this important bill. Many thanks to all of [...]

DPC Submits Letter to HRSA on Out-of-Sequence Organ Donation

2025-05-22T17:13:52+00:00May 22nd, 2025|Categories: Access to Transplant, Advance Patient Choice, Article, Protect Patient Care|

On May 21, 2025, DPC submitted a letter to Thomas J. Engels, Administrator at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), expressing concern about the growth in out-of-sequence organ transplants reported in a recent New York Times article. The article outlines a recent shift in the transplant system, where someone’s ranking on the transplant list may be ignored and instead the organ is given to a patient further down the list, usually due to easier coordination for the transplant. As a patient-led organization whose board is comprised of dialysis and kidney transplant patients, DPC is alarmed at the reported rate [...]

DPC’s Letter to Thomas J. Engels, Administrator at Health Resources and Services Administration, on Out-of-Sequence Organ Allocations

2025-05-21T20:16:46+00:00May 21st, 2025|Categories: Advance Patient Choice, Article, Improve Access to Care, Increase Quality of Care, Protect Patient Care|

May 21, 2025 Thomas J. Engels, Administrator Health Resources and Services Administration 5600 Fishers Lane Rockville, MD 20857 Re:      Out-of-Sequence Organ Allocations Dear Administrator Engels: Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) writes to express our concerns about the growth in out-of-sequence organ transplants reported in a recent New York Times article. DPC's membership, currently about 35,000, is restricted to kidney disease patients and their family members. DPC is a patient-led organization.  Our by-laws require that the President, Vice President and at least 51% of the Board be current dialysis patients.  The non-dialysis patients serving on our Board are former dialysis patients with [...]

Nevada Medigap Update – May 2025

2025-05-22T17:19:44+00:00May 19th, 2025|Categories: Article, Medigap Coverage, Patient Ambassadors, Promote Financial Security, Protect Patient Care, State Advocacy|

After unanimous passage in the Nevada State Senate, the Nevada Assembly Committee on Commerce and Labor unanimously approved Senate Bill 292 on May 16th. Sponsored by State Senator Roberta Lange (NV-7), this important legislation will provide access to affordable Medicare Supplement Insurance, otherwise known as Medigap to the under age 65 Medicare eligible population. Currently individuals under age 65 in the state of Nevada who are eligible for Medicare as a result of End Stage Renal Disease or by disability are not able to access Medigap coverage. Nevada resident and DPC Patient Ambassador, Chuck Lizer, shared his story with the [...]

State must guarantee Medigap for dialysis

2025-04-22T18:42:06+00:00April 18th, 2025|Categories: Medicare Advantage, Medigap Coverage, Patient Ambassadors, Patient Stories in the News, Promote Financial Security|

I have progressive chronic kidney disease (CKD). One day, my kidneys will fail. Dialysis — a life-saving treatment that removes waste from the blood when the kidneys fail — is in my future. Right now, I am doing everything I can to slow the progression of my disease. But one thing I can’t control is whether I’ll be able to afford very expensive dialysis treatment when the time comes. I recently lost my job, which means I lost my private insurance. I bought my own private plan to keep the care I need, but that’s only a temporary fix. My [...]

Letter to the Editor: Expanding Medigap Will Save Lives

2025-04-15T19:30:23+00:00April 15th, 2025|Categories: Medicare Advantage, Medigap Coverage, Patient Ambassadors, Patient Stories in the News, Promote Financial Security|

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 [...]

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