Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients
When I was diagnosed with end-stage renal disease in 2017, I was working for a major U.S. airline carrier with strong health insurance coverage. During COVID, as a flight attendant and flight service duty manager with 30 years of experience, I accepted an early-out retirement package. Dialysis had made it increasingly difficult to continue working, and my doctor advised it, given my high risk.
As part of that package, I kept active employee-rate health coverage for 36 months. This stability was invaluable and allowed me to delay enrolling in Medicare until the month of my transplant.
No dialysis patient should have to worry about losing private insurance coverage too soon. I was lucky; others are not so fortunate. For example, a 2022 Supreme Court ruling opened the door for private insurers to restrict or deny coverage for end-stage renal disease patients, potentially forcing them onto Medicare before the traditional 30-month protection period ends. Losing private coverage early can mean crushing costs and disrupted care not only for patients themselves, but for their dependents, who would not be moving to Medicare.
That’s why I urge Representative Maggie Goodlander and Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan to support the Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act. This bill would close that loophole and guarantee patients can keep their private insurance for their first 30 months of treatment.
Dialysis patients deserve stability, dignity, and protection.