DPC Highlights CMS Proposed Rule Including Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Programs
Via Electronic Submission Acting Administrator Tavenner Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Department of Health and Human Services P.O. Box 8016 Baltimore, MD 21244 Re: CMS-2334-P: Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Programs, and Exchanges: Essential Health Benefits in Alternative Benefit Plans, Eligibility Notices, Fair Hearing and Appeal Processes for Medicaid and Exchange Eligibility Appeals and Other Provisions Related to Eligibility and Enrollment for Exchanges, Medicaid and CHIP, and Medicaid Premiums and Cost Sharing Dear Acting Administrator Tavenner: Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) appreciates the opportunity to comment on the proposed rule entitled “Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Programs, and Exchanges: Essential Health Benefits [...]
Congressional Corner: February 2013
By Carrie L. Director of Congressional and State Relations As it has been mentioned in previous blog posts, World Kidney Day is a great opportunity to get out in the community and raise awareness about kidney disease. For us here at the DPC office, this means inviting some of our most active Patient Ambassadors from around the country to join us in the nation’s capital. On World Kidney Day, the Patient Ambassadors will meet with their Members of Congress to talk with them about the policy issues that mean the most to kidney disease patients and to share their stories. [...]
From the Welcome Desk At DPC: Who Are You Going to Call? Hint Not the Ghostbusters
By Stephen C., Policy Assistant Hello all! This week I want to talk about something that I’ve been asked about quite a bit. Lots of folks have been calling me to find out how to submit complaints to their dialysis centers. Obviously, we care about patients and want to make sure that they are receiving the best possible care. But when it comes to individual patients at individual centers, we just don’t have the resources to get involved in every case at the local level. If you have a grievance, the first step is fill out a grievance form. Afterwards, talk [...]
Dash of Sage: World Kidney Day is Rapidly Approaching
By Sage B., Grassroots Manager This week I am working on World Kidney Day (WKD) materials to help people organize events, contact their lawmakers and educate the public on issues that dialysis patients face. And it reminds me of an old story from my former life as a domestic violence advocate: In the 1970’s the domestic abuse movement was basically made up of private citizens who were willing to open their homes to victims of domestic abuse. Unfortunately, aside from these very brave individuals, domestic abuse was still seen as a private matter, and lawmakers weren’t about to address it. So [...]
Inside the Intern’s Mind: Introduction
Megan Sturman By Megan S., Education Intern Hello everyone! My name is Megan Sturman, and I am excited to announce that I am the new education intern here at The DPC Education Center (The Center)! I grew up in Waldorf, MD., a small city just outside of Washington, D.C. I will be graduating this May, from Salisbury University earning my B.S. in Public Health with a minor in Sociology. One of the reasons I decided to pursue a degree in public health was because I am passionate about the health of others. So far it has been the [...]
DPC Comments on Medicaid Advantage Drive Times
January 24, 2013 Jonathan Blum Deputy Administrator and Director for the Center of Medicare Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Department of Health and Human Services Room 314G 200 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20201 Re: Medicaid Advantage Drive Times for ESRD Patients Dear Mr. Blum: On behalf of more than 24,000 Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) members and over 400,000 end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients currently on dialysis, thank you for your leadership at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). As the nation’s largest patient-led organization representing dialysis patients, DPC’s membership consists of dialysis and pre-dialysis patients and their [...]
From the Welcome Desk at DPC: January Edition
By Stephen C., Policy Assistant Hello all! This week, I wanted to let you know about an exciting opportunity that I can help you out with. As you hopefully already know, World Kidney Day is coming up on March 14th. You might ask, “What is World Kidney Day?” To give you the general idea, here is its stated mission: “The mission of World Kidney Day is to raise awareness of the importance of our kidneys to our overall health and to reduce the frequency and impact of kidney disease and its associated health problems worldwide.” Obviously, this is something right up [...]
Dialysis Patient Citizens Announces Our New Sister Organization The DPC Education Center
By Tony B., Director of Research and Information Today we are excited to announce the creation of a new sister organization The DPC Education Center (The Center). The new organization, which is incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit, will work together with DPC to advance their shared mission of improving the quality of life of all kidney disease and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. The Center is dedicated to improving kidney patients’ quality of life and reducing the occurrence of ESRD through education and by developing awareness of dialysis and kidney disease issues, improving the partnership between patients and caregivers and [...]