Megan Hashbarger, DPC Vice President of Government Relations
This past May, DPC hosted our annual Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C., where we brought 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 65 advocates attend, representing 25 states, who had almost 80 Congressional meetings.
Our patients spoke to Congressional offices asking them to support H.R. 6860 – The Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act and H.R. 5027/S. 4469 – The Chronic Kidney Disease Improvement in Research and Treatment Act. These two bills would improve access to quality health care coverage as well as innovative treatment for patients.
Specifically, H.R. 6860 – The Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act, would restore the longstanding ability for an ESRD patient to stay on private insurance for 30 months after diagnosis. This is important because it allows patients to continue to cover dependents, have better access to transplant, and help with the 20% cost of care that Medicare does not cover. Dialysis patients didn’t choose this disease, but they should have a choice in what insurance works best for them.
H.R. 5027/S. 4469 – The Chronic Kidney Disease Improvement in Research and Treatment Act supports efforts to prevent and better understand chronic kidney disease (CKD) by ensuring appropriate reimbursement for quality care and improve patient access to the best drugs, technology, and innovations along the kidney care continuum. The bill also includes a provision which would ensure all ESRD patients have the option to purchase a Medigap supplemental plan no matter what their age is.
This year, we also celebrated our 20th anniversary and we were so thankful to share this occasion with our members and advocates. We look forward to our next Advocacy Day which will be in the summer of 2025.
For more information, visit: https://kidneyaction.org/esrd/
