Update: And it gets worse: KIDS!!!!
Petition (and see our visit to DC and DC Press Conference + Rally)
There were 'Winds of Change' in D.C.'s hallways of Congress this last February 29th, 2024 - both figuratively and literally! It was quite blustery both inside and out - but that is pretty much a constant on the inside. But we added something not always seen - we spoke the truth! We spoke the truth with our stories outside the Capitol building! We spoke the truth inside the hallways and rooms of Congress at both @RepMaxineWaters' conference room and outside @RepJasonCrow's office! We thank you both for helping to lead this effort! And thanks to so many of our Congress people, the huge labor union SEIU, NYT's best-selling author Tom Mueller, and Dr. Rhonda Hamilton for their efforts at the January 31st Press Conference in front of so many of our Congressional leaders! It was an excellent Press Conference from all indications. Dr. Hamilton also led us this February 29th!
I'll ask, could this be an issue that could unite the parties? (bear with me) The old-school Dems over the years have been perceived by some as caring about quality of care and workers' rights - and have recognized we all need a little help now and then. The old-school Republicans on the other hand were at one time thought to be in favor of local control, picking themselves up by the bootstraps, and fiscal conservatism - all qualities that have been severely lacking in kidney dialysis!
How so? This writer could see many old-school Republicans in favor of things like local small clinics which would be much more manageable than the current Goliath big two scandal-ridden dialysis companies who fight any type of reform at every turn - and have the big bucks to shout down any opposition!
Old-school Republicans are also known to preach about picking-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps. (haven't always practiced what they preached) What is more 'picking yourself up' than home dialysis where self-care is emphasized? Which leads to fiscal conservatism. At home, patients don't need a clinic's building surrounding them or staff helping them out - a big cost savings!
The old-school Dems on the other hand might point out there are going to be people who are in too bad of shape to ever qualify for home dialysis and clinics are always going to be needed - and there are people who just don't want the hassle for one reason or another. Choice needs to be a factor in all this! And those in clinics deserve staff that is well-trained and not worked to death with improper staff to patient ratios!
So what is the holdup if this is a bipartisan issue? As mentioned the dialysis companies will fight tooth and nail any attempt they see as a threat to their assembly-line treatments - get them in and out as fast as you can and get paid (out the wazoo). A big wall of money is going to try to stop things like innovations that would threaten management's big bonuses! Innovations like 'Community Dialysis Houses' where many dialysis patients who are perfectly capable of self-care, but for whatever reason can't do home dialysis, can do their own treatments with minimal help. This also saves the system money. However the big dialysis companies would lose "customers" so it shouldn't be surprising they just might be against it. And nephrologists, kidney doctors, might not be inclined to recommend such places. They might not have a financial interest in 'Community Dialysis Houses' and would have less of an incentive to recommend them. Which leads to 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! Neprologists need to stop seeing their patients as cash cows, they need to see them as people who deserve the best treatment possible!
It is time to "Undo Big Dialysis"!!!
Petition (and see our visit to DC and DC Press Conference + Rally)
