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DPC Responds to Medicare Dialysis Payment Rule

2026-08-26T14:47:07+00:00August 26th, 2026|Categories: Advance Patient Choice, Article, Comment Letter, Improve Access to Care, Increase Quality of Care, News, Policy Issues, Promote Financial Security, Protect Patient Care|

DPC submitted comments on Medicare’s proposed payment update for 2027. DPC urged CMS to change its current policies, which continue to cause financial stress to dialysis care, staffing shortages, and lack of patient access to new and innovative therapies. For 2027, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is proposing to increase the ESRD PPS base rate to $299.55, which will increase total payments to ESRD facilities by approximately 1.1%. However, DPC notes, the current inflation rate is 3.4%, the Wall Street Journal’s expert panel of economists forecasts 3.4% inflation for the next year, and the most recent producer price [...]

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DPC’s Letter to Dr. Mehmet Oz, Administrator at Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, on CMS-1846-P: CY 2027 Changes to the End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Prospective Payment System, Acute Kidney Injury Dialysis (AKI) Payment, and ESRD Quality Incentive Program

2026-08-25T14:49:06+00:00August 24th, 2026|Categories: Advance Patient Choice, Comment Letter, Improve Access to Care, Increase Quality of Care, Promote Financial Security, Protect Patient Care|

August 24, 2026 The Honorable Mehmet Oz, Administrator Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 200 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20001 Re:       CMS-1846-P: CY 2027 Changes to the End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Prospective Payment System, Acute Kidney Injury Dialysis (AKI) Payment, and ESRD Quality Incentive Program Dear Dr. Oz Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) offers comments on the above referenced Rule. DPC's membership, currently about 35,000, is restricted to kidney disease patients and their family members. DPC is a patient-led organization.  Our by-laws require that the President, Vice President and at least 51% of the Board be current dialysis patients.  The [...]

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NCSL 2026 Recap

2026-08-26T14:49:42+00:00August 3rd, 2026|Categories: Article, Medigap Coverage, News, Promote Financial Security, Protect Patient Care, State Advocacy|

The National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) welcomed more than 7,000 attendees to its Legislative Summit in Chicago July 27-29. DPC was thrilled to participate in this bipartisan event as part of our legislative advocacy work at the state level. Megan Hashbarger, Senior Vice President of Government Relations, and State Advocacy Directors, Elizabeth Lively and Pamela Zielske, attended the event and shared updates on DPC’s critically important work in the states to increase access to affordable Medigap coverage. Over the course of the Summit, we heard numerous stories from attendees who have family members or friends facing kidney disease. Legislators or [...]

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Advocacy Day 2026

2026-07-23T14:32:39+00:00July 20th, 2026|Categories: Advance Patient Choice, Article, Get Involved, Improve Access to Care, Increase Quality of Care, Innovation, Medigap Coverage, News, Patient Ambassadors, Policy Issues, Private Insurance Coverage, Promote Financial Security, Protect Patient Care|

During June 29th – 30th, DPC hosted our annual Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C. bringing together patients, family members, and care partners to meet with their Members of Congress to help elevate the dialysis patient voice. This year, 62 advocates attended our fly-in from 29 states, meeting with more than 90 Members of Congress and/or their staff. Advocates spoke with their Senators and Representative urging support for the Restore Act (H.R. 2199/S. 1173), which would allow patients to keep their private insurance coverage for the full 30-month transition period, and for the Kidney Care Access Protection Act (S. 2730 / H.R. 6214), [...]

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Patient Advocates Head to D.C.

2026-06-24T15:39:03+00:00June 24th, 2026|Categories: About DPC, Get Involved, Improve Access to Care, Patient Ambassadors, Policy Issues, Promote Financial Security, Protect Patient Care, Take Action|

DPC is excited to welcome this year’s group of patient advocates to Washington, D.C. June 29th – 30th for our Annual Advocacy Day Event. Our advocates will be meeting with their representatives on the Hill to discuss two very important pieces of legislation for kidney patients:  S. 2730 / H.R. 6214 – The Kidney Care Access Protection Act and H.R. 2199 / S. 1173 – The Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act. If you have not yet done so, please take a moment to urge your representatives to co-sponsor these two bills. Access to innovation and private insurance are critical to [...]

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New CO Kidney Bill Signed Into Law

2026-05-28T13:59:41+00:00May 27th, 2026|Categories: Article, News, Protect Patient Care, State Advocacy|

Colorado Governor Jared Polis recently signed House Bill 26-1019, the Kidney Screening Mandatory Preventive Coverage Act, into law. This important legislation adds kidney function screening services as mandated preventive health-care services for which insurance policies in the state must provide total-cost coverage, without cost sharing or co-payments. Coverage for kidney function screening services will be implemented for all large employer health benefit policies issued or renewed in Colorado on or after January 1, 2027, and coverage will be implemented for all individual and small group health benefit plans issued or renewed in the state on or after January 1, 2028. By requiring qualifying health plans to cover [...]

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DPC Gets The Word Out at Detroit Zoo Event

2026-05-28T14:03:58+00:00May 19th, 2026|Categories: Article, Board Members, Get Involved, Medigap Coverage, Patient Ambassadors, State Advocacy, Uncategorized|

On May 17, DPC participated in the National Kidney Foundation Michigan Kidney Walk at the Detroit Zoo. DPC has been working to advance legislation in the state that would expand Medigap access to dialysis patients under 65 years of age. DPC Board President Quiana Bishop and Policy Committee Chair Alethea Walls – both Michigan residents -- recognized this as a great opportunity to get the word out about DPC and recruit additional advocates in support of our advocacy efforts, as NKF Michigan estimated more than 3,000 registered walkers for the event. Michigan Patient Ambassador Gwendolyn Martinez and DPC Eastern Region [...]

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Federal Court Strikes Down Attempt to Abolish Charitable Premium Assistance for Dialysis Patients

2026-04-20T15:00:27+00:00April 14th, 2026|Categories: Article, Charitable Premium Assistance, Legal Defense, News, Promote Financial Security, Protect Patient Care|

Several years ago, at the behest of the SEIU labor union, the California legislature passed Assembly Bill 290 (AB 290), a bill intended to abolish charitable premium assistance for dialysis patients. In an April 7, 2026, decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit struck down major provisions of AB 290. The court ruled that the law violated the First Amendment rights of dialysis providers and the American Kidney Fund (AKF), a nonprofit charity. The Ninth Circuit found that AB 290's primary provisions unconstitutionally burdened the right of expressive association. The court struck down the provision that capped reimbursement [...]

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Improving Kidney Health Hearing

2026-03-25T18:42:19+00:00March 25th, 2026|Categories: Article, Increase Quality of Care, Innovation, News, Private Insurance Coverage, Promote Financial Security, Protect Patient Care|

Last week, The Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health held a hearing on “Improving Kidney Health Through Better Prevention and Innovative Treatment”. Witnesses included Ashli Littleton, a 36-year-old Medicare beneficiary with ESRD; Suzanne Watnick, MD FASN, a nephrologist and Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology at the University of Washington; Robert Taylor, MD, a nephrologist and Chief Medical Officer of Dialysis Clinic, Inc.; and John Butler, MBA, President and Chief Executive Officer of Akebia since 2013. During the hearing, the witnesses and Members of Congress highlighted many of the struggles ESRD patients face and the need for more innovation [...]

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Support S.1552/H.R. 4583 – The Living Donor Protection Act

2026-02-26T14:36:14+00:00February 25th, 2026|Categories: Access to Transplant, Advance Patient Choice, Article, Protect Patient Care, Take Action, Transplant Donor Protection|

This week, The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) will be marking up S. 1552 – The Living Donor Protection Act introduced by Senators Tom Cotton (R‑AR) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D‑NY).  This bill, and its’ House companion bill H.R. 4583, provides essential protections for living kidney donors, including job security, protection from insurance discrimination, and the financial burdens associated with transplantation. Specifically, The Living Donor Protection Act would: Prohibit life, disability, and long-term care insurance companies from denying or limiting coverage and from charging higher premiums for living organ donors. Amend the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to specifically include [...]

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