Bill HR1458 and S565

[cschwab]

Bill for Transplant drug coverage

HR1458 and S565 are in both still in committee and could use your support (have been in committee since last April and March)! Tell your federal representatives how they could save $30,000 to $60,000 a year for every person they can keep off of dialysis. These bills would continue coverage for transplant drugs instead of stopping payments at 3 years. No more worrying about losing a job and insurance, or not getting a transplant in the first place because a person doesn't know how they will cover the price of the meds.

find_status_of_bill

more_info

Write_Reps_Senators

[angieskidney]

Bill for Transplant drug coverage

HR1458 and S565 are in both still in committee and could use your support (have been in committee since last April and March)! Tell your federal representatives how they could save $30,000 to $60,000 a year for every person they can keep off of dialysis. These bills would continue coverage for transplant drugs instead of stopping payments at 3 years. No more worrying about losing a job and insurance, or not getting a transplant in the first place because a person doesn't know how they will cover the price of the meds.

find_status_of_bill

more_info

Write_Reps_Senators

There definitely needs to be a way to cover transplant meds for more than 3 years!  

Hope you don't mind I shared this here: http://kidneykorner.com/smfbb/index.php?topic=2979.0

[cschwab]

I'm a generous sort of fellow, share away!

[cschwab]

I've heard it mentioned capping transplant coverage at 3 years is an incentive to get a job with insurance.  I have a hard time seeing why a person already dealing with kidney disease needs to be given more incentive than any other person to work!  Even if a person with this sort of pre-existing condition did manage to find a job (even tougher in today's economy), there is no guarantee they would manage to hang onto that job.  Layoffs are already bad enough, why add the pressure of having to pay for meds on top of it!  All this 3 year transplant coverage nonsense is doing is adding a disincentive not to get a transplant!

[angieskidney]

I've heard it mentioned capping transplant coverage at 3 years is an incentive to get a job with insurance.  I have a hard time seeing why a person already dealing with kidney disease needs to be given more incentive than any other person to work!  Even if a person with this sort of pre-existing condition did manage to find a job (even tougher in today's economy), there is no guarantee they would manage to hang onto that job.  Layoffs are already bad enough, why add the pressure of having to pay for meds on top of it!  All this 3 year transplant coverage nonsense is doing is adding a disincentive not to get a transplant!

THAT is the reason? What a load of ... well I won't say what but you can fill in the blanks. It is hard when employers discriminate that some times post transplant it is hard to find a job right away. Transplant recipients don't need an incentive to get a job! Most WANT to finally get back into the daily routine of a normal life again and save for the future and working a job is all part of that!  

Heck I have even HEARD people SAY they would NOT get a transplant (various people across the USA have said this on a few kidney forums) because they were worried how they would ever PAY for their health care! It is a sad state of things when people are afraid to get a transplant because they feel like they will be set up only to lose it again due to not being able to afford their meds that help them KEEP that Gift of Life!!!!  (You need a thumbs down emoticon now Chris).

[cschwab]

The occasion does seem to call for it.  

[cschwab]

Besides writing our Congress people from our state and districts, I'm also looking to contact people on the committees where the bills are stuck.

I did find Rep. Dennis Kucinich from Ohio, he is on the 'Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions' where HR1458 is stuck.  He has made it easy to contact him electronically: http://kucinich.house.gov/Contact/

Knowing Rep. Kucinich's views on health care, I would think he would be very open to this bill.

[angieskidney]

So should Americans be contacting him about their views on this?

[cschwab]

I would highly recommend it!

[angieskidney]

I would highly recommend it!

Okay then I will let the members know on KidneyKorner to come read this thread regarding this!  

Have you been telling people on KidneySpace about this?

Okay Getlife from KidneySpace let me know they have a thread about it here:

http://www.kidneypublicpolicy101.com/index.php?topic=137.0

Which you might find interesting along with this PDF:

http://www.rsnhope.info/WeKANAdvocacy/ImmunosupressiveCoverage_0609.pdf

[cschwab]

Angie, thanks for all your interest in all this!  I will mention I'm finding some Congressional Representatives are more open to getting contact and emails from outside their states and districts than others.  I'm getting together a list of those who might be more willing to accept correspondence from people who aren't their direct constituents and I will be posting it soon - I'll put up the snail mail addresses for the rest.  Thank you!    

[cschwab]

Here are the members of the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions - one of the places where HR1458 is stuck.  The members near the top of the list can be contacted easily through their webpages, even by people outside the Congress members' states or districts.  The rest can be contacted by regular mail if so desired.

I get the impression if this bill doesn't get enough attention it will die in committee - let's do our part to get it going again!
 
Rep. Robert Andrews, Chairman
http://www.house.gov/andrews/contact_form_za.shtml

Rep. Tom Price, Ranking Member
http://tom.house.gov/html/contact_form_email.cfm

Rep. John F. Tierney
https://forms.house.gov/tierney/webform/issue_subscribe.htm

Rep. Dennis Kucinich
http://kucinich.house.gov/Contact/ (click on one of 'contact me electronically' links)

Rep. Joe Wilson
http://www.house.gov/formwilson/IMA/issue.htm

Rep.Dale E. Kildee
http://www.house.gov/kildee/contact_form.shtml

Rep. Rush Holt
http://holt.house.gov/contact.shtml

Rep. Joe Sestak
https://forms.house.gov/sestak/webforms/issue_subscribe.htm

Rep. David Loebsack
http://loebsack.house.gov/contactform/

Rep. David Wu
2338 Rayburn HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
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Phone: (202) 225-0855
Fax: (202) 225-9497  

Rep. Phil Hare
428 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 20515
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(202) 225-5905
Fax: (202) 225-5396

Rep. John Kline
1210 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515
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Phone: (202) 225-2271
Fax: (202) 225-2595

Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon
2184 Rayburn HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
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ph: (202) 225-1956
fax: (202) 226-0683

Rep. Marcia Fudge
1513 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
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Phone: (202) 225-7032
Fax: (202) 225-1339

Rep. Carolyn McCarthy
2346 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
----------------------
Phone: (202) 225-5516
Fax: (202) 225-5758

Rep. Brett Guthrie
510 Cannon H.O.B.
Washington, DC 20515
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Phone: (202) 225-3501
Fax: (202) 226-2019

Rep. Tom McClintock
508 Cannon HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
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Phone: (202) 225-2511
Fax: (202) 225-5444

Rep. Duncan D. Hunter
1429 Longworth HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
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Phone: (202) 225-5672
Fax: (202) 225-0235

Rep. David P. Roe
419 Cannon HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
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Phone: (202) 225-6356
Fax: (202) 225-5714  

Rep. Yvette Clarke
1029 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515
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Phone: (202) 225-6231
Fax: (202) 226-0112

Rep. Joe Courtney
215 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
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(202) 225-2076
(202) 225-4977 fax

[cschwab]

Here are contacts for the House Ways and Means Committee, where the bill also resides:

Contact committee:
http://waysandmeans.house.gov/singlepages.aspx?NewsID=10470

House Ways and Means committee - subcommittee on Health

Rep. Pete Stark (Chairman)
https://forms.house.gov/stark/webforms/contact.htm

Rep. Devin Nunes
https://nunes.house.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactUs.ContactForm

[cschwab]

And the Energy and Commerce Committee - Subcommittee on Health

Rep. Nathan Deal, Ranking Member
http://www.house.gov/deal/contact.shtml

Rep. Bart Gordon
http://gordon.house.gov/contact/contact_form.shtml

[cschwab]

(Looks like they are reintroducing the bill again)

Senators Introduce Bill to Extend Transplant Drug Coverage
03/16/2010

WASHINGTON