Posted on 02/27/2022 6:31:31 AM PST by Kaslin
As of this March, it’s officially been two years since the COVID-19 pandemic upended our day-to-day lives. Mask-wearing, capacity limits, even broad shutdowns were enacted across the country as health experts worked to get a full grasp of the situation and understand the depth of the problem at hand, with a particular focus on protecting groups of patients with compromised immune systems.
While things are thankfully on the upswing now – as vaccines and booster shots are widely available and the spike we saw in new cases at the start of the year has dropped dramatically – in many ways the full scope of just how much vulnerable groups of patients have been affected by the pandemic is only now coming into frame, for dialysis patients more than most other groups of patients.
Since kidney disease compromises a patient’s immune system, dialysis patients found it harder than ever to get the treatment they need. Finding reliable transportation to a clinic, ensuring they were safe from the virus while receiving treatment, and other factors contributed to something that the nation hasn’t seen before: the U.S. population of dialysis patients fell. And for many patients, the problem was only compounded by the fact that they didn’t have a reliable way to cover the costs of their treatments.
While Medicare helps to cover some of the costs of dialysis treatment, it will only cover up to 80 percent of the total bill. The rest of the cost falls on patients and their families, unless they have access to Medigap insurance plans that prevent them from having to pay those significant out-of-pocket costs that Medicare doesn’t pay for. Right now, however, it is up to states to require insurers to offer those plans to dialysis patients, and many don’t. Even in cases where they do, those plans can be prohibitively expensive.
Now, it’s important for lawmakers to find a smart, cost-effective solution that ensures dialysis patients across the country can access Medigap coverage. Thankfully, Representatives Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA-3) and Cindy Axne (D-IA-3) have introduced the Jack Reynolds Memorial Medigap Expansion Act to accomplish exactly that. The bill would guarantee that patients under 65 who suffer from End-Stage Renal Disease have access to Medigap plans that can help them pay for their dialysis treatments, and it would do it in a fiscally responsible way.
In fact, according to a study about the bill published last year, passing the Jack Reynolds Memorial Medigap Expansion Act would reduce federal spending on Medicare by $1.2 billion over the next ten years by extending the Medicare Secondary Payer period for dialysis patients who already receive coverage through an employer.
This bill represents exactly the type of sound, responsible healthcare policy that the U.S. needs. I hope that Representatives Herrera Beutler and Axne receive the backing they need from their fellow members of Congress to ensure this bill makes it to the president’s desk and is signed into law. Dialysis patients across the country are counting on it.
We’re still putting together the full picture of how dialysis patients and other vulnerable groups of patients were affected by the pandemic. However, we have a blueprint in front of us to combat one of the most significant challenges they’ve faced over the past two years, and we need Congress to do its part to help. This bill will benefit patients, benefit our country, and leave us better prepared to face whatever healthcare challenges may lie ahead.
“While things are thankfully on the upswing now - as vaccines and booster shots are widely available”
Is this the type of thing one gets on Townhall?
0bamacare: We want for you (dialysis patient) get the care you so desperately need! For free, if you can’t afford it! And especially if you’re an illegal alien!
*a gajillion doctors forced or bribed go out of business*
*care for dialysis patients involves taking two days off for a trip to the nearest 0bie-approved facility because your local center has closed down*
*(But the town sure is full of people selling drugs, lately! Too bad it’s not drugs to help you maintain your health.)*
*Trump elected*
*things are better as far as your fixed income and living situation are concerned, as well as your odds of being able to present to your local dialysis center 200 miles away because gas is cheaper - but it still involves an extensive road trip; things are looking up, however!*
*ChoMoeJoe “elected”*
*As a dialysis patient, your future could not appear more grim. Not only do you have to drive 400 miles round-trip every week - and you’re still sick all the time anyway because your meds are harder to obtain, too - but now they are going to enable more socialism to “help” you.* And gas costs $4.00+ a gallon. (The doctor who used to treat you locally and your local dialysis center are never comin’ back! Kiss them goodbye!)
As a side note, you may try to obtain further funding through a crowd-funding site. Good luck, as “they” are going to be keeping a very close eye on you.
Why are we singling out a single disease - that in the vast majority of cases is self-inflicted, for special financial treatment?
We should be encouraging people to exercise and eat better and make better lifestyle choices - not giving them money when they make a lifetime of bad choices.
Another band aid on a gun shot wound will do NOTHING. If anyone truly wants the problem fixed, it only requires Long Standing ANTI TRUST LAWS on Monopolization and Price Fixing to be FULLY Enforced. This alone would cause the price of Health Care to crash by Over 90% and a Lot of Executives would be Asset Stripped and ROT in Prison for the rest of their Lives.
Hi, welcome to the Self-Care Dialysis Center....
I will not be taking out Medigap coverage.
If I’ll be taking Medice B coverage is still under consideration.
Lowering interest rates has left me $20000 poorer than planned.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.