Carson City, NV (June 9, 2025) – Governor Joe Lombardo (R-NV) and the Nevada State Legislature have taken a historic step to ensure affordable access to Medicare Supplement Insurance plans, also known as Medigap, to Medicare enrollees under age 65, including Nevada residents with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). Senate Bill 292, sponsored and championed by Senator Roberta Lange (D-NV-7), passed the Senate unanimously and the Assembly with overwhelming bipartisan support (39-3), and it was signed into law by Governor Lombardo.
SB 292 guarantees that dialysis patients under 65-years-old in Nevada have access to affordable Medigap coverage, filling dire gaps in Medicare coverage for Nevadans who neither had access to Medicaid nor employer-provided private insurance to cover the remaining 20% of treatment expenses. SB 292 becomes effective October 1, 2025, and it provides access for under age 65 Nevadans with ESRD to enroll in Medigap Plans A, B, and D at the same premium rate as those age of 65. The remaining plans would be available at no more than twice the standard rate for age 65. The legislation not only impacts individuals who have just initiated dialysis and enrolled in Medicare Part B, but it also includes a one-time, 6-month special open enrollment period for dialysis patients who are already enrolled in Medicare Part B. This one-time enrollment period will run from October 1, 2025, to April 1, 2026.
“This legislation is life-changing for dialysis patients under 65 across Nevada who have never had access to any Medigap coverage,” said Andrew Conkling, President of the Board of Directors for Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC). “For the first time, Nevadans living with kidney failure can access coverage that fills the dangerous gaps in Medicare and gives them the financial stability they need to focus on their health.”
Chuck Lizer, a DPC Patient Ambassador and Nevada resident, provided compelling testimony in support of the bill. “I’ve lived through the stress and hardship of trying to cover out-of-pocket Medicare costs without a Medigap option,” Lizer said. “This legislation will prevent others from going through that same hardship.”
DPC commends Senator Lange, the Nevada Legislature, and Governor Lombardo for their leadership on behalf of patients with kidney failure.
