Hannah Bracamonte, Author at Dialysis Patient Citizens

Insights with Jack: Accidental Advocate

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:34+00:00February 2nd, 2015|Categories: About DPC, Dialysis Funding, Get Involved, Patient's Voice|

By Jack Reynolds, DPC Board Member and Patient Ambassador As it is Ground Hog Day, I thought I would come out of my winter hole and blog once more. March is only four weeks away, and it will be time to visit Washington, D.C. and another chance for Dialysis Patient Citizen Ambassadors to bring our issues and concerns to our elected Congressional Representatives and Senators. Although I have made this journey many times since 2005, I am not a “natural” political advocate; and in fact, if not for a social worker, I may have never become a dialysis citizen at large [...]

Dialysis, ESRD and EEOC
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Dialysis, ESRD and EEOC

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:34+00:00February 2nd, 2015|Categories: Patient's Voice|

By Devon Osborne, DPC Board Member and Patient Ambassador Back a couple years ago, I had to sue my employer through the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) for violating my rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Below is some of my experience doing that. In light of the recent posts and comments here and elsewhere, I figured it was time to post about the process I went through with the EEOC and getting my case filed and accepted. Immediately after I got home the fateful day I was terminated, I sat down and wrote out exactly what happened and [...]

DPC’s Jackson Williams Named NAIC Consumer Liaison Representative

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:34+00:00January 12th, 2015|Categories: Article, Staff|

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), a membership organization for the nation’s chief insurance regulators, recently named 30 consumer liaison representatives for 2015. Through these representatives, who are committed to the public interest, consumers can interact with NAIC’s membership, the insurance industry and other interested parties. “Our consumer liaison representatives play an integral part in helping the NAIC and regulators protect U.S. insurance consumers,” said Monica J. Lindeen, NAIC President-Elect and Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance. “This partnership program is an important component of our mission to protect the public interest and facilitate the fair and equitable treatment [...]

DPC Joins Patient Groups in Commenting on the Standardized Readmission Ratio for Dialysis Facilities

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:34+00:00December 22nd, 2014|Categories: Comment Letter, Quality Incentive Program|

Insights with Jack: Holiday Greetings

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:34+00:00December 18th, 2014|Categories: Patient's Voice|

By Jack Reynolds, DPC Patient Ambassador and Board Member Seasons come and go, and cold winds blow. Holiday Greetings! Well, I would never have made it as a Hallmark card bard. One of my most vivid recollections of Christmas, which is almost dreamlike now, is lying alone in a hospital room pondering my gloomy fate and thinking about my family and what was going through their minds. The previous day I had met Dr. Condon for the first time, and she had informed me that I had undergone renal failure and from this time on would require treatments on the [...]

Dialysis Facility Compare Star Ratings Draw First Challenge to CMS Quality Measures Under Data Quality Act

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:34+00:00December 16th, 2014|Categories: 5-Star Ratings, Press Release|

Skewed geographic distribution of star ratings demonstrates program’s flaws, says Dialysis Patient Citizens WASHINGTON, D.C. (Dec. 16, 2014) — Dialysis Patient Citizens has filed the first challenge to a CMS quality program under the Data Quality Act, contending that the agency’s Dialysis Facility Compare (DFC) star ratings methodology fails to satisfy federal requirements for objectivity and utility in presenting information to the public. The day after being served with the complaint, CMS conceded it should have conducted cognitive testing of this system on consumers, reversing a position the agency had defended for nearly four months. “We felt this challenge was necessary in light of CMS’ continued refusal to [...]

A Strong Voice for Dialysis Patients

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:34+00:00December 8th, 2014|Categories: Article, Get Involved|

With the gridlock in Congress reaching new heights, it is more important now than ever for dialysis patients to have a strong voice in policymaking. DPC is well-equipped to serve as that voice since it is a patient-led organization (the Board of Directors consists entirely of patients). Joining DPC means you are serious about improving the quality of care for dialysis patients, and sends a signal to legislators that this will be on the top of your mind when you go to the ballot box in November. They know that if they pass legislation favorable to patients, they will be more [...]

DPC’s Request for Correction complaint to CMS Regarding DFC Star Ratings

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:34+00:00December 2nd, 2014|Categories: 5-Star Ratings, Comment Letter|

Attached is CCSQ’s courtesy copy of the Request for Correction we filed today under the Data Quality Act challenging the methodology to be used in the DFC Star Ratings. The Data Quality Act and the HHS Information Quality Guidelines promulgated pursuant to the Act have been in existence for approximately as long as CMS has collected and reported quality measures. Over the past decade, no stakeholder has ever filed a Request for Correction with CMS pertaining to quality measurements. We take no joy in being the first, but we feel that the circumstances surrounding the formulation of this program—the lack of [...]

Insights with Jack: Reflections on Thanksgiving

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:34+00:00November 22nd, 2014|Categories: Patient's Voice|

By Jack Reynolds, DPC Board Member and Patient Ambassador My Grandma Mae lived to be 96 and she had a saying, “One has to learn how to suffer." I think what she really meant was that a person must learn how to handle or manage their suffering whether it be physical, mental, or emotional. Over time most ESRD patients are confronted with a host of these challenges or sufferings. Frankly, I have been spared many of the hospitalizations and complications that many dialysis patients experience. For example, I have a right lower-arm fistula that I have used as my dialysis access [...]

Prior Authorization of Non-Emergency Ambulance Transportation to Begin for Dialysis Patients in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and South Carolina

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:34+00:00November 13th, 2014|Categories: State Advocacy, Transportation Services|

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will begin implementing a prior authorization demonstration program for non-emergent ambulance transport of dialysis patients in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and South Carolina. CMS believes using a prior authorization process will help ensure services are provided in compliance with Medicare coverage rules, specifically that ambulance providers in those states must obtain documentation from physicians prior to the beginning of service. The requirement does not apply to hospital-based ambulances. CMS is taking these actions in response to instances of fraud in those three states. For example, one Pennsylvania fraud scheme involved more than $3.6 [...]

About Hannah Bracamonte

Dialysis Patient Citizens

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