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DPC Comments on CMS Proposed ESRD Annual Payment Rule to Improve Dialysis Patient Quality of Life

2024-03-29T01:13:33+00:00October 11th, 2019|Categories: Access to Transplant, Article, Charitable Premium Assistance, Comment Letter, Dental Coverage, Dialysis Funding, Innovation, Medicare Advantage, Quality Incentive Program, Treatment Options|

Each year—typically during the summer—the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) puts out rules for how they are going to pay for dialysis treatment. The rules reflect CMS' latest policies, and organizations have the opportunity to provide feedback about the rules before they go into effect on January 1. DPC provided feedback to CMS regarding their end-stage renal disease (ESRD) Annual Payment rule. DPC's letter addresses the following important topics for improving ESRD patient care: Transitional Add-On Payment Adjustment for New and Innovative Equipment and Supplies Anemia Management Social Risk Factors and their Impact on the QIP The Need [...]

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Donor Protection Bill Signed into Law While Care Access Bill Now in the Hands of California Governor

2024-03-29T01:13:33+00:00September 23rd, 2019|Categories: Article, Charitable Premium Assistance, Dialysis Funding, Improve Access to Care, Increase Quality of Care, State Advocacy, Take Action, Transplant Donor Protection|

As temperatures cool and the California legislature winds down from a flurry of late summer activity, two bills that would impact kidney disease patients recently landed on Governor Newsom’s desk for his signature or veto. We’re thrilled that the bill seeking to increase access to transplants by strengthening protections for living organ donors was just signed into law. This bill passed unanimously in the Senate, after a similar unanimous passage in the Assembly earlier this year. DPC supports this bill because it helps remove barriers for kidney donors. Specifically, it requires employers to extend an employee’s unpaid leave up to [...]

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Action Alert – Urge Your Legislators to Help Dialysis Patients by Supporting the Kidney Bill

2024-03-29T01:13:33+00:00September 17th, 2019|Categories: Article, Medigap Coverage, Take Action|

Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) works hard to promote financial security as financial hardships are common for many people with end-stage renal disease. Congress has introduced a bill that would decrease the financial burden experienced by many dialysis patients and improve their access to care. The bill—known as the Chronic Kidney Disease Improvement in Research and Treatment Act of 2019 (S. 1676/ H.R. 3912)—would amend current law to ensure ESRD patients under the age of 65 have access to Medigap plans. Without a supplemental insurance like Medigap, Medicare patients bear significant out-of-pocket expenses for physician visits, hospital admissions, and other services [...]

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DPC Advocates for Improved Patient Access to Care with State Lawmakers

2024-03-29T01:13:33+00:00September 11th, 2019|Categories: Article, Medigap Coverage, State Advocacy|

Last month, DPC spoke with lawmakers at the National Conference of State Legislatures about the importance of having access to a supplemental insurance like Medigap to help pay for the deductibles and co-pays not covered by Medicare. When Medigap plans were first introduced, Congress only guaranteed issue of these plans to traditional Medicare beneficiaries and therefore did not extend this protection to those who gain Medicare coverage prior to age 65, including people with end-stage renal disease. Currently, only 28 states offer Medigap plans to people on dialysis. People on dialysis face serious financial struggles in areas where Medigap coverage is not [...]

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DPC Comments on CMS Proposed Rule Regarding ESRD Treatment Choices Model Demonstration

2024-03-29T01:13:34+00:00September 4th, 2019|Categories: Access to Transplant, Comment Letter, Dental Coverage, Innovation, Medicaid, Transplant Donor Protection, Treatment Options|

In response to the Administration's announcement to improve kidney health in America, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a rule to implement a mandatory Medicare payment model designed to increase the number of home dialysis treatments and kidney transplants, all while reducing Medicare expenditures. The rule—referred to as the End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Treatment Choices Model (ETC Model)—would measure clinician and facility performance, as well as the rate of home dialysis and kidney transplants in selected geographic regions. These calculations would result in either an increase or decrease of Medicare funding to a particular facility or clinician, [...]

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Dialysis Issues Are Heating Up in California

2024-03-29T01:13:34+00:00August 6th, 2019|Categories: State Advocacy, Uncategorized|

With summer temperatures on the rise, so too are kidney care issues both nationally and in California, where dialysis policies in particular remain hot button topics despite the defeat of Proposition 8 last November by a relatively wide margin. In an effort to protect dialysis patients’ access to quality care, DPC continues to elevate the patient voice with policy makers while also committing even more resources on the ground. In fact, DPC recently established a new advocacy office in Sacramento less than a block from the State Capitol. We also hired Kelly Goss to serve as DPC’s new California State Advocacy Manager. [...]

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The Administration’s Plan to Improve Quality of Life and Patient Choice for Dialysis Patients

2024-03-29T01:13:34+00:00July 11th, 2019|Categories: Access to Transplant, Article, Improve Access to Care, Transplant Donor Protection, Treatment Options|

President Donald J. Trump thanks DPC Board Member Nancy Scott prior to signing an Executive Order on Advancing American Kidney Health Wednesday, July 10, 2019, at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead) "I did dialysis. I did not let it do me." Those powerful words were shared by DPC Board Member Nancy Scott shortly before President Trump signed an Executive Order centered around improving kidney health in America on July 10, 2019. Scott was one of only three individuals who the Administration asked to share her [...]

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Congressman Donald Payne Jr. Advocates for Dialysis Patients

2024-03-29T01:13:34+00:00June 25th, 2019|Categories: Advance Patient Choice, Article, Improve Access to Care, Increase Quality of Care, Promote Financial Security|

Congressman Donald Payne Jr. is a Representative for New Jersey's 10th congressional district. He has end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and receives in-center dialysis treatment multiple times a week. Payne spoke with advocates during DPC's 2019 Annual Fly-In about his experience with dialysis and the efforts he is taking to elevate the patient voice. Payne's incidence with kidney failure is similar to the stories shared by thousands of people on dialysis. The progression of his diabetes led to the decline in his kidney function, and Payne speaks openly about his struggle to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Establishing dialysis access has been a [...]

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DPC Advocates for New Treatment Research and Innovations

2024-03-29T01:13:35+00:00May 22nd, 2019|Categories: Article, Innovation|

Dialysis Patient Citizens continues to work hard advocating to increase quality of care for patients. We are supporting a house bill that encourages research and innovations to provide patients with hope and new treatment options. This is an important issue because there has been little progress made in treatment for dialysis patients when compared to other diseases. In addition, advances in dialysis care could astronomically improve the lives of millions of Americans with kidney disease. We will continue to work hard to improve the dialysis patient quality of life by elevating the voice of patients with policy makers.

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DPC’s Letter to the California Assembly About Quality Ratings

2024-03-29T01:13:35+00:00April 23rd, 2019|Categories: 5-Star Ratings, Comment Letter, State Advocacy|

Assembly Member Jim Wood Chair Committee on Health State Capitol, Room 6005 Sacramento, CA 95814 Assembly Member Chad Mayes Vice Chair Committee on Health State Capitol, Room 6005 Sacramento, CA 95814 Re: Support for AB 1448 Dear Chairman Wood and Vice Chairman Mayes: With 32,000 dialysis patient members, over 4,000 of whom reside in California, Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) is the nation’s largest patient-led organization representing individuals with end-stage renal disease (ESRD).  On behalf of California’s 70,000 ESRD patients and the DPC Board of Directors, I am writing to express our strong support for [...]

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