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Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients

2025-11-21T18:02:01+00:00October 10th, 2025|Categories: Medigap Coverage, Patient Ambassadors, Patient Stories in the News, Promote Financial Security|

As a caregiver for my late father-in-law on dialysis – the only treatment for kidney failure outside of a transplant – I saw firsthand how taxing kidney disease can be. My wife, a nurse, handled his home dialysis treatments day after day. I helped wherever I could – driving him to appointments, shaving him when he could no longer manage, and offering the emotional support both he and my wife needed. Dialysis didn’t just affect him. It shaped our entire family’s life. We gave everything to help him stay home, stay comfortable, and maintain his dignity. Thankfully, he had sufficient [...]

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Ongoing Government Shutdown

2025-10-29T14:39:54+00:00October 6th, 2025|Categories: Article, Medicare Advantage, News, Promote Financial Security, Protect Patient Care|

The federal government is currently shut down due to a spending impasse in Congress over extending Affordable Care Act subsidies and restoring Medicaid cuts in H.R.1, the reconciliation bill passed in July. It is unclear how long the shutdown will last.  The shutdown halts many of the federal government’s “nonessential” functions, but your benefits under entitlement programs such as Medicaid and Medicare continue. According to communications from the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) sent to patient advocates (10/1/25), 1-800-MEDICARE will continue to operate as usual. State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIPs) should be able to continue their regular program activities but designated [...]

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Letter To The Editor: Kidney Failure, Dialysis, & Supporting Pending Legislation

2025-09-30T20:40:55+00:00September 24th, 2025|Categories: Medigap Coverage, Patient Ambassadors, Patient Stories in the News, Promote Financial Security|

To the Editor: Discovering I had End-Stage Renal Disease, or kidney failure, was one of the most shocking days of my life. I was a high school wrestler and felt healthy. I had recently become a proud godfather, cheering on my niece at her volleyball and softball games. I never thought I would have to confront a chronic condition. I wouldn’t be alive today without dialysis, a treatment that filters my blood several times a week. Dialysis is exhausting, but the financial burden can be just as draining. I’m fortunate to work for a company that allows me to adjust [...]

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Support S. 2730 – The Kidney Care Access Protection Act

2025-09-23T17:46:01+00:00September 23rd, 2025|Categories: Advance Patient Choice, Article, Improve Access to Care, Increase Quality of Care, News, Promote Financial Security, Take Action|

In early September, Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced The Kidney Care Access Protection Act (S. 2730) which would strengthen Medicare’s kidney care benefits by ensuring fair reimbursement for and access to quality care. This bipartisan legislation has been endorsed by Kidney Care Partners, the American Kidney Fund, Dialysis Patient Citizens, and the Renal Support Network (RSN). Specifically, this bill would establish a long-term, sustainable Medicare payment pathway for innovative drugs, devices, and technologies. It would also implement a forecast error adjustment policy that accurately accounts for inflationary costs to help keep healthcare facilities financially viable. [...]

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DPC Comment Letter to CMS Recounts Heartbreaking Story of Rural Dialysis Clinic Closure

2025-08-28T13:48:55+00:00August 28th, 2025|Categories: Comment Letter, Dialysis Funding, Improve Access to Care, Innovation, Policy Issues, Promote Financial Security, Protect Patient Care, Quality Incentive Program, Staffing Shortages, Treatment Options|

DPC has submitted its comments responding to this year’s Medicare ESRD Payment Rule. The Medicare agency is proposing a payment update of only 1.9%, which doesn’t keep pace with increasing costs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, compensation costs for civilian workers increased 3.6 percent for the 12-month period ending in June, while inflation was 2.7%. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission recently reported that dialysis clinics’ Medicare margin was –1.1 percent in 2022 and –0.2 percent in 2023. They project a 2025 FFS Medicare margin of 0 percent. The comment letter brought officials’ attention to the story of a [...]

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DPC’s Letter to Dr. Mehmet Oz, Administrator at Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, on ESRD Prospective Payment System

2025-09-11T17:44:31+00:00August 27th, 2025|Categories: Comment Letter, Dialysis Funding, Improve Access to Care, Innovation, Policy Issues, Promote Financial Security, Protect Patient Care, Quality Incentive Program, Staffing Shortages, Treatment Options|

August 27, 2025 The Honorable Mehmet Oz Administrator Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 200 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, DC  20001 Re: CMS-1830-P - End-Stage Renal Disease Prospective Payment System  Dear Dr. Oz: Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) writes to offer its comments on the above referenced proposed 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 non-dialysis patients serving on our Board are former dialysis patients with kidney [...]

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Letters: Dialysis patients need help from Congress to fight insurers

2025-11-25T18:20:38+00:00August 21st, 2025|Categories: Medigap Coverage, Patient Ambassadors, Patient Stories in the News, Promote Financial Security, Spotlight|

I’m writing not just as a nurse, but as a wife and caregiver. My husband Kenneth was diagnosed with IgA nephropathy at just 20 years old. That disease slowly damaged his kidneys, leading to kidney failure and the need for dialysis, a treatment that does the work of the kidneys by cleaning the blood when the kidneys can no longer do so. For the past decade, we’ve built our life around his treatment. We started with peritoneal dialysis at home, which involved using a catheter and fluid exchange to filter his blood overnight while he slept. When that was no [...]

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DPC’s 2025 Advocacy Day

2026-02-18T21:00:09+00:00July 23rd, 2025|Categories: About DPC, Advance Patient Choice, Article, Improve Access to Care, Increase Quality of Care, Medigap Coverage, Patient Ambassadors, Private Insurance Coverage, Promote Financial Security, Protect Patient Care|

Last week, DPC hosted our annual Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C. where we bring together patients, family members, and care givers to meet with their Members of Congress to elevate the patient story for dialysis patients. This year we had 36 advocates attend, representing 24 states, who had over 80 Congressional meetings. Our patients spoke to their congressional leaders and encouraged their support for the Restore Act (H.R. 2199/S. 1173) and for the Kidney Care Access Protection Act (KCAPA), which is expected to be introduced soon. In doing so, they helped to elevate the voices of the ESRD community nationwide. [...]

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He needs help to stay alive

2025-10-27T15:20:44+00:00July 20th, 2025|Categories: Patient Ambassadors, Patient Stories in the News, Promote Financial Security, Spotlight|

At 12, a freak accident caused my kidneys to fail. My mother gave me the gift of life a second time when she donated one of her kidneys. But by 20, my body began rejecting it, and I had to start dialysis, a grueling treatment that filtered my blood because my kidneys no longer could. Three times a week, I sat in a chair for hours just to stay alive. Eventually, I received a second transplant. But even post-transplant I need expensive medications, lab work, and regular checkups. Thankfully, I have private insurance. It gave me coverage that Medicare could [...]

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Congress can help kidney patients

2025-09-23T15:08:31+00:00July 16th, 2025|Categories: Medigap Coverage, Patient Ambassadors, Patient Stories in the News, Promote Financial Security, Spotlight|

For decades, I worked as a teacher and mentor to students I loved. Then suddenly, I was diagnosed with kidney failure. Now, I’m a dialysis patient who relies on an exhausting treatment to survive. I was first diagnosed with kidney disease in 2016 after a family history of high blood pressure caught up with me. I came off dialysis for a few years after weight loss surgery, but in 2023, my kidneys failed again. I had to stop working, because of having too many doctor's appointments and too many sick days. I lost my private insurance, and Medicaid turned me [...]

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