Inside the Intern’s Mind – Goodbye for now!
By Megan S., Education Intern I am in my final day here at DPC, and I wanted to post my last blog before I move on. I can’t believe how fast time has flown. It seems surreal that I have spent about 3 months here and that I will be graduating from college in just two weeks. First, I would just like to personally thank my supervisor, Tony, for granting me this amazing opportunity. Your guidance and supervision throughout my experience was more than I could have expected. I want to thank you for the time you spent with me discussing [...]
Confused About ObamaCare? You are not Alone!
By Jessica N., Director of Public Affairs When it comes to the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a ACA or Obamacare), the one thing most people can agree on is its complexity. The bill was long and detailed, and since its passage, thousands of pages of regulations have been released to direct its roll-out. Whether you support the new health care reforms or not, the bill is here to stay and substantial changes are coming to our health care system. If you would like to learn a bit more about the ins-and-outs of ObamaCare, I recently created a webinar entitled “The Affordable [...]
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 [...]