Update: And it gets worse: KIDS!!!!
Petition (and see our visit to DC and DC Press Conference + Rally)
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There is a good chance Tom Mueller, NYT's best-selling author, will make an appearance in Omaha! His book 'How To Make a Killing' shown quite an unfavorable light on the dialysis industry (to put it mildly)
Update: Tom Mueller sends his regrets, but he won't be able to make this Saturday's May 4th Walk in Omaha. However he did give an endorsement.
The snow has melted, the flowers are awakening, and the grass is starting to green - and my wife is trying to tackle me before I get out the door again! Yes, it is spring in this household. My wanderlust has taken hold and a far off land is beckoning - a land I visited last year (more on the new May 4th,2024 event at the bottom of the page) Some guys go on golf trips, some guys go on fishing trips - this guy likes to hand out flyers, listen to some tunes if he can, and talk to people - lowers my blood pressure. My wife worries about my heart, I've had problems in that area. Me, I worry about my heart if I don't do this! What do we want in Omaha? The breakup of DaVita, the huge kidney dialysis company, and better care for kidney dialysis patients!
In Omaha, I liked talking to people about a little old man - Warren Buffett [1] - who is hiding behind a wall of money and a mighty, mighty PR machine. What is he hiding from? These facts and scandals about his DaVita dialysis investment might give you an idea! I hear the cries of this little old man looking for the road to redemption! A fellow who has been trying to buy his way into heaven - some might call it generosity - some hard, cynical people (like myself) might say it is a way to alleviate guilt and rack up points on the positive side of the ledger before he winds up in the complaint department in the basement of hell. The message I'm getting is a fleet of semis full of loot from places like the huge dialysis company DaVita doesn't get a person past Saint Peter's toll booth. The message I'm getting is it might take a person admitting his mistakes, like admitting when choice is taken out of healthcare, holding the victims hostage isn't such a great idea! Admitting throwing them crumbs while he runs off with the cake isn't such a great idea. Rumor has it (rumor I started) the Ghost of Charlie Munger has been visiting Buffett, and whispering in his ear (that's my story and I'm sticking to it). What isn't a rumor is my friends and I payed a visit to our federal reps in DC this last January 31st and February 29th. A good chance those reps won't be whispering in Buffett's ear - they could be shouting!
But am I being too cynical? Aren't there some patients out there loving their in-center care? Patients just full of sunshine and lollipops? I'll get to that later. But I'll tell you about some of the patients I've run into. I'll start with one who might almost qualify as a happy in-center patient. Back in 2007 he was part of team of a clinic manager and patient care technician, that testified for davita and against our kidney technician certification bill at a Colorado State Capitol hearing. Yes, he described a beautiful, shiny clinic on a hill. A land of peace, love, and harmony where staff and patient joined hands for wonderful medical treatment. Then when he was done testifying I saw him blinking out S-O-S! Ok, it just happened in my mind. I went down memory lane looking for more possibilities. How about Frank Brown (R.I.P)? When he was a 47 year old man he had been on dialysis half his life - at the time he was claimed he had been on dialysis the longest of anybody in the country! Surely he would have some good things to say.: uh, not too many. How about the 2000 US Senate hearings? Nope, nothing there! Then how about our own hearings here in Colorado? I'll let you listen, maybe I missed something. All old news? Then how about the January 31st, 2024 Press Conference and February 29th, 2024 events in DC? Patients weren't exactly singing the praises of their care there either.
So where might be the Camelots of kidney dialysis in-center care? The answer might surprise you, it surprised me after I googled it just recently- the LDOs (Large Dialysis Organizations) like DaVita and Fresenius! They sometimes offer in-center slow nocturnal hemodialysis - what I've been told for years is the Cadillac of treatments! I don't know how many are out there - are they few and far in-between? I felt obligated to say something. Since so many DaVita and Fresenius clinics are out there maybe a person could push for nightly slow nocturnal dialysis in their current clinic? But now the hard, cynical side kicks in. Even if some patients managed to get great dialysis at night, what would it be like for patients during the day? Still the short, violent bazooka treatments these for-profit clinics are known for? I don't know. Surely the doctors could step in and make sure bazooka treatments didn't happen - not when they are trapped in their gilded cages. This leads to something previously mentioned, another big need in this field of medicine - the elimination of the nephrologists' exemption to the 'Stark Law' which stops doctors from profiting off their patients with their financial interest in specific clinics! Neprologists need to see people as deserving the best treatment possible for their situation!
The other potential Camelot centers might be something I just learned about! Community Dialysis Houses aren't here in the US yet as far as I can tell. But not only do they offer self-care, but potential savings! The person I learned about the houses from is a prolific poster on X (twitter): @DailyHemo "Started dialysis in 1978, tried standard incenter 3x weekly, Daily Short, Every Other Day and currently on Nocturnal Hemodialysis incenter" I couldn't imagine a more knowledgeable resource! I've provided the good (just above), the bad (further up), and the ugly of dialysis - a lot of ugly going on!
And I would be amiss if I didn't mention what has impressed this 20+ year kidney dialysis advocate for years and years - home dialysis. Someone who I talked to often on the phone and was like an uncle to me claimed home dialysis saved his life! Dr. Kenneth Bays - his 2000 US Senate testimony. Not enough has changed since then!
But getting back to the May 4th, 2024 event where we will be handing out flyers (and more?), details can be found here. Again, what happened last year is linked to here. It is hoped this year's event will be more than a one-man "scouting" mission! A good chance there will be more blogs before the May 4th event, so stay tuned! -- Also again there is a good chance NYT's best-selling author Tom Mueller may show up in Omaha! Author of: 'How To Make a Killing' which shines a light on the dialysis industry.
Petition (and see our visit to DC and DC Press Conference + Rally)
[1] Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway owns 40% of DaVita, the huge kidney dialysis company. The huge for-profits, DaVita and Fresenius, have been linked to inferior care
