I was diagnosed with end-stage renal disease, or kidney failure, at only 20 years old. Two years later, I began receiving dialysis to stay alive.
I lost my job right before beginning dialysis and ultimately began dialysis on Medicare. Since Medicare only covers 80%, and my disability income disqualified me from Medicaid, I could not cover the remaining 20%. I had to go into medical debt just to survive. Six years of dialysis, a kidney transplant and 17 years later, I can now say that I am out of debt. I became a nurse, received an MBA, worked hard and paid it off. Many aren’t so fortunate.
Many kidney patients lose their private insurance upon beginning dialysis, not because they were fired (like me), but because insurers reduce care to cut costs — pushing patients onto Medicare prematurely. So I am urging Congressman Jeff Van Drew and Senators Cory Booker and Andy Kim to support the bipartisan Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act, which would allow dialysis patients to keep their private insurance for the first 30months of treatment. This bill is a key step in the right direction so future ESRD patients no longer have to face uncertainty and medical debt.
Shekeila Harris, Vineland, New Jersey
