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DPC Submits Comments to CMS’ Request for Information

2024-03-29T01:13:42+00:00October 13th, 2016|Categories: Advance Patient Choice, Charitable Premium Assistance|Tags: |

In late August, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) placed a Request for Information about insurance steering and the use of third-party payments for insurance premiums. DPC has consistently advocated for patient choice in regards to insurance plans, we believe patients have the right to choose an insurance plan that works best with their health needs and desired outcomes. DPC submitted comments in response to this request emphasizing the increased benefits some exchange plans offer to dialysis patients as opposed to traditional Medicare. In addition to submitting formal comments, DPC has created a dedicated “Patient Assistance” information page where you can find press [...]

Patient Group Comments to CMS re: Request for Information on Insurance Steering

2024-03-29T01:50:28+00:00September 22nd, 2016|Categories: Charitable Premium Assistance, Comment Letter|

Andy Slavitt Acting Administrator Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Department of Health and Human Services 200 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20201 RE: CMS-6074-NC: “Inappropriate Steering of Individuals Eligible for or Receiving Medicare and Medicaid Benefits to Individual Market Plans” Dear Acting Administrator Slavitt: On behalf of the dialysis patients we represent, the American Kidney Fund (AKF), Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC), and the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) appreciate the opportunity to provide comments on the Request for Information entitled “Inappropriate Steering of Individuals Eligible for or Receiving Medicare and Medicaid Benefits to Individual Market Plans” (RFI). More specifically, we are [...]

Comments to CMS re: Request for Information on Insurance Steering

2024-03-29T01:50:28+00:00September 20th, 2016|Categories: Charitable Premium Assistance, Comment Letter, Innovation|

Andrew Slavitt, Acting Administrator Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Department of Health and Human Services Hubert H. Humphrey Building 200 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, D.C. 20201 Re: CMS-6074-NC: “Request for Information: Inappropriate Steering of Individuals Eligible for or Receiving Medicare and Medicaid Benefits” Dear Mr. Slavitt: Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) responds herein to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) with comments on the above referenced Request for Information. As America’s largest patient-led organization representing dialysis patients, DPC’s membership consists of more than 28,000 dialysis and pre-dialysis patients and their families. We seek to ensure the patient point [...]

DPC Responds to CMS’ Request for Information

2024-03-29T01:50:28+00:00August 19th, 2016|Categories: Advance Patient Choice, Article, Charitable Premium Assistance|Tags: |

If anyone doesn’t know why the public is fed-up with our government, all they need to do is look at yesterday’s RFI on third party payment, which can best be summarized as “politics as usual” and big insurance dictating its own agenda.  The former CMS Administrator – who is now the nation’s leading lobbyist for the insurance industry – appears to be getting the Agency to prioritize her new employer’s desires over the needs of the nation’s most vulnerable patients. To put even more pressure on the Obama Administration, Aetna just threatened to pull out of even more health insurance exchanges if it doesn’t get [...]

Did Payment Reform Affect Patient Modality Choice?

2024-03-29T01:50:28+00:00August 11th, 2016|Categories: Dialysis Funding, Improve Access to Care, Medicare Advantage, Treatment Options|

One of the main policy goals of Dialysis Patient Citizens is to Improve Access to Care. This tenet includes improving patient access to all dialysis modalities: home hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, in-center hemodialysis and transplantation. Through our annual membership survey, we’ve uncovered various barriers for patients who would like to receive home hemodialysis. Many patients are unable to receive treatments in their home because of a lack of a caregiver, which is a requirement to receive treatment. However, DPC has also uncovered that the type of insurance a patient has may affect the likelihood of whether they are informed of home dialysis [...]

ESRD Choice Act Moves out of Committee with Unanimous Support

2024-03-29T01:50:28+00:00August 11th, 2016|Categories: Advance Patient Choice, Care Coordination, Medicare Advantage|

Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) hailed the introduction of H.R. 5659 as the latest in a series of milestones toward opening Medicare Advantage (MA) enrollment to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. With bi-partisan introduction by Reps. Jason Smith (R-MO), John Lewis (D-GA), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Kurt Schrader (D-OR) and Tom Marino (R-PA), this legislation is a momentous step forward to providing dialysis patients increased access to insurance. “As a dialysis patient of 5 years, I am fortunate to have secondary insurance to cover what Medicare does not, however I know many patients in my facility don’t have that luxury. Providing dialysis patients access [...]

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