I’ve been on dialysis — the only treatment besides a transplant for kidney failure — for eight years. The toll it takes physically, mentally and emotionally is constant.
But the hardest moment came when my clinic mismanaged my care so badly that I went three weeks without treatment. I switched back to my dialysis clinic soon after, where I trust my nephrologist and feel like a person, not a number.
Sadly, this isn’t unusual, especially in rural areas where patients face limited clinic options. They juggle complex medication regimens, family responsibilities, comorbidities and financial pressures, all while trying to survive.
The healthcare system doesn’t make it easier. For more than a decade, clinics have struggled with inadequate Medicare reimbursements. Even more, Medicare doesn’t cover innovative kidney care treatments and devices for more than two to three years — discouraging investment in effective ways to prevent fatal infections and anemia, control phosphorus levels and manage excruciatingly itchy skin.
We need better national policies to help this vulnerable patient population. That’s why I’m encouraging Congressman Everton Blair, D-Ga., to support the Kidney Care Access Protection Act, which would ensure longer coverage of breakthrough treatments and correct reimbursement issues.
Christopher Richards, Douglasville, Georgia
