Get the Facts Indiana

Chronically ill people may face significant access issues due to unfair payment practices to get the quality care they need, disrupting their ability to work and care for their families. Worse, patients who are forced to change their center and their caregiver after treatment has begun to face significant challenges to their care.

This isn't right. People shouldn’t have to suffer so insurance companies can make even more money. The Dialysis Patient’s Bill of Rights will ensure they don’t have to.

In 2008, HB 1284 Passed House and Senate

HB 1284 is the first step in ensuring a comprehensive Dialysis Patients Bill of Rights.  HB 1284 ensures access to dialysis care within 30 miles and provides for a summer study of the broader issues.The Summer Study made it really clear that a more comprehensive solution was needed.

The Issues

• Dialysis is the only chronic illness in the country that lets insurance companies off the hook. After 30 months, Medicare assumes responsibility for dialysis patients’ treatment and benefits, regardless of age. Prior to that, patients rely upon their private insurance plan to pay for their care.

• Dialysis patients, who have chosen a PPO insurance plan, have agreed to pay higher premiums and co-pays to have the right to choose where they receive their care.

• Insurers have started limiting that freedom of choice, restricting patient access to out-of-network caregivers by drastically reducing payments to those providers who are not in their networks.

• This aggressive tactic replaces the normal negotiation between dialysis centers, caregivers, and insurance companies, essentially forcing caregivers to join the insurance network or to turn away patients.

• These recent policy changes create a situation where patients have paid higher PPO premiums for the ability to choose where they receive their care, only to have that choice limited by insurance companies when they need it most.

• These changes can make it difficult for patients to use their private insurance benefits, encouraging them to drop their private coverage prematurely in order to access Medicare and Medicaid and shift the cost of their care to the government.

• These policies discriminate against, and have a disproportionate impact on, a small number of chronically ill patients.

Why It Matters

• Nearly 9 out of 10 dialysis patients rely on a government benefit (Medicare, Medicaid) to pay for their care. Unfortunately, neither Medicare nor Medicaid covers the full cost of care. Caregivers can’t continue to provide dialysis services without adequate payments from private insurers.

• Some dialysis patients may face extraordinary hardships once they have lost their freedom of choice.

• Dialysis patients represent only 1 out of every 5,000 enrollees for insurance companies.  

Bottom line: Major impact on patients. Minor savings for insurance companies.

The Solution: Dialysis Patient's Bill of Rights

The time is now. We have a new chance to pass the Dialysis Patient's Bill of Rights and really protect quality dialysis care in Indiana. Please join us and get involved now.

• The Dialysis Patient's Bill of Rights would protect patient access to life-saving care today and in the future.