Inside the Intern’s Mind: Halfway Point
By Megan S., Education Intern I am a little past my halfway point of interning here at Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) and the DPC Education Center (The Center) and so far it has been a great learning environment and experience. Even though I have lived just outside of Washington, D.C. my entire life I was never a frequent visitor of the city and in just a few days here I discovered how drastically different it was from my hometown, Waldorf, MD. For starters, everyone here just moves at a much faster pace. In the mornings after getting off of the Metro [...]
DPC Thanks South Carolina Senator for his Support in Extending Medigap Coverage to Medicare Patients
The Honorable Harvey S. Peeler Jr. 213 Gressette Building Columbia, SC 29201 Dear Senator Peeler, As the nation’s largest patient-led organization representing dialysis patients, Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) works to improve the quality of life for all dialysis patients through education and advocacy. On behalf of our membership, and particularly on behalf of the over 7,800 dialysis patients in South Carolina, we are writing today to thank you for introducing legislation to extend Medigap coverage to Medicare patients under the age of 65 with disabilities or end stage renal disease (ESRD). Once enacted, your legislation will help countless patients pay [...]
Snapshots from our World Kidney Day Advocacy Event
By Jessica N., Director of Public Affairs For World Kidney Day, more than 75 dialysis community advocates traveled to Washington, DC to raise awareness about kidney disease issues on Capitol Hill. Check out some great photos from the three-day event below. DPC Executive Director Hrant Jamgochian opens up the Issue Briefing at the Advocacy Day Training Session Jean Moody-Williams, Director of the Quality Improvement Group at CMS, discusses quality improvement strategies for the Medicare ESRD Program. Dialysis community advocates strategize with Capitol Hill group members. Advocates get to know each other during the Advocacy Day Training Session. Christopher from Soapbox [...]
Dialysis Advocates Praise Introduction of Kidney Transplant Drug Access Legislation
Urge Support for the Comprehensive Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage for Kidney Transplant Patients Act of 2013 (Washington, DC) – In honor of National Kidney Month, dialysis patient advocates praised the introduction of the Comprehensive Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage for Kidney Transplant Patients Act of 2013 (S.323/H.R. 1325). This vital legislation will extend anti-rejection drug coverage for kidney transplant patients under the age of 65 beyond the current three year period. The bill would ensure transplant patients receive the necessary medications to maximize the life of the donated organ while using our limited federal resources more efficiently. “While receiving a kidney transplant is a [...]
Congressional Corner: Two Transplant Bills Introduced in Congress
By Carrie L., Director of Congressional and State Relations Recently, two bills relating to kidney and organ transplants have been introduced in Congress. Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois and Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi introduced the Comprehensive Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage for Kidney Transplant Patients Act of 2013 (S. 323) in the Senate, and Congressman Michael Burgess and Congressman Ron Kind introduced a companion bill (H.R. 1325) in the House. If passed, these bills will extend Medicare immunosuppressive drug coverage for kidney transplant patients under 65 years old for the life of the graft. Under current law, Medicare beneficiaries who are [...]
Update: Dialysis Care Coordination Moves Forward!
By Jessica N., Director of Public Affairs As I highlighted last fall, DPC has been busy working with other kidney community organizations and the federal government on a new and improved way to provide care to dialysis patients. As part of recent health care reform efforts, Medicare has been developing new ways to coordinate care for various patient groups and they just came out with their dialysis specific program! Medicare, or more specifically the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI), released the official blueprint for this new program, which they have called the Comprehensive ESRD Care Initiative. The initiative is [...]