Check out our Patient Ambassador Spotlight, where we highlight members who elevate the voices of people with kidney disease.
This month’s Spotlight is on Cassie Bertwell from Lincoln, Nebraska.
When Cassie was just 25 years old, she was diagnosed with renal failure, caused by systemic lupus, and immediately began dialysis. She was pregnant at the time, undergoing chemotherapy, and fighting for her life – while also worrying about losing her health insurance.
Cassie was terrified. Her private insurance was the only safety net keeping her family out of financial crisis. She and her husband even discussed divorcing on paper to protect him from bankruptcy – something no one ever have to consider.
After 14 months of dialysis, she received a kidney transplant from my brother. Today, Cassie is nine years post-transplant and the mother of a healthy 6-year-old daughter, born on her three-year transplant anniversary.
A recent Supreme Court decision allowing private insurers to push dialysis patients off their private plans and onto Medicare early puts patients, like Cassie, at an alarming risk. Losing private coverage mid-treatment can mean crushing out-of-pocket costs and disrupted care at one of the most critical moments of a person’s life. That’s why she is urging the Nebraska congressional delegation to support the Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act. The bill would guarantee patients the traditional 30 months of private coverage before transitioning to Medicare, and dialysis patients deserve the chance to focus on surviving, not on going bankrupt.
Watch Cassie’s video about her experience:
And read her full Letter to the Editor, written to her local paper, the Omaha World Herald, and featured on DPC’s website here: https://www.dialysispatients.org/news/nebraska-delegation-should-support-people-on-dialysis/.
Patient Ambassadors represent DPC by serving as leaders in their community and local dialysis facilities. Learn more about this critical role and make a difference in the lives of dialysis patients by applying for DPC’s Patient Ambassador program.
