South Carolina Kidney Patients to Re-Visit State Capitol, Urging Legislators to Make Medigap Secondary Insurance Accessible to All

COLUMBIA, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dialysis patients, family members and kidney care advocates from across South Carolina will travel to the State House tomorrow to urge state Senators to support Medigap legislation – S. 1128, sponsored by Senators Harvey Peeler (R-Cherokee) and Phillip Shoopman (R-Greenville). South Carolina kidney patients are joined in advocating for this legislation by the National Kidney Foundation Serving the Carolinas, South Carolina Region (NKF) and Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC). If enacted, the bill will help approximately 500 South Carolinians suffering from kidney failure and patients deemed disabled who are having difficulty accessing private market health insurance coverage for necessary medical care.

“Not only will this bill help patients avoid having to choose between paying for our needed medical care and our everyday living expenses, it will also ease pressure on the Medicaid program by helping patients avoid having to turn to it for support”

This is the second time in two weeks that many dialysis patients will argue their case before lawmakers and strive to gain support for Medigap reform. James Ruff, a kidney failure dialysis patient from Columbia, spoke to legislators last week as part of the NKF and DPC sponsored “Kidney Day at the State House” – which included more than 50 patient participants statewide – and will return to the capitol again tomorrow to testify at a Senate Banking and Insurance Subcommittee hearing on the bill. “Not only will this bill help patients avoid having to choose between paying for our needed medical care and our everyday living expenses, it will also ease pressure on the Medicaid program by helping patients avoid having to turn to it for support,” said Ruff. “I am proud to speak out on the need for this important legislation that can help hundreds of people in our state.”

Two populations qualify for Medicare coverage: Individuals over age 65, and those under 65 who meet certain conditions, including the diagnosis of end stage renal disease (ESRD), also known as kidney failure. While Medicare covers most medical costs, it requires patients to pay deductibles and co-pays. Under current federal law, only Medicare beneficiaries over the age of 65 are able to purchase Medigap insurance as secondary coverage; patients under the age of 65 do not have this same option. While most patients have some type of secondary insurance to help with these costs, approximately 500 South Carolinians under age 65 with ESRD do not have access to this coverage intended to help them and patients deemed disabled access essential medical treatments, including kidney transplants, without cost being a barrier to care.

As the kidney patients and advocates have explained to their lawmakers, Medigap coverage protects patients from having to “spend down” their income to become eligible for state Medicaid insurance. If Medigap legislation is enacted, fewer people will be forced to enter South Carolina’s Medicaid program, resulting in Medicaid savings of up to $4.6 million over the next five years, protecting taxpayers from higher program costs.

“This piece of legislation has the ability to help hundreds of patients in our state who are currently struggling to balance the costs of their medical bills with their daily living expenses,” said Beth Irick, Division President, National Kidney Foundation Serving the Carolinas. “Extending Medigap coverage will help vulnerable kidney failure patients access the care they need while also lightening the Medicaid cost burden for South Carolina taxpayers – and we hope we can count on the Senate Banking and Insurance Subcommittee to support this important legislation.”

Approximately 546,000 South Carolinians – 1 in 8 residents – have chronic kidney disease, with about 7,500 suffering from ESRD and reliant upon dialysis to function for their failed kidneys. South Carolina ranks, per capita, third in the nation with the number of patients on dialysis. Nationally, approximately 527,000 people have kidney failure, which is on the rise as risk factors for CKD – including high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity – continue to increase. Patients with kidney failure must rely on life-saving dialysis treatments, usually three times a week in sessions that last several hours, to remove toxins from the blood.

“This legislation would help ensure that kidney failure patients in South Carolina will not have to jeopardize their financial futures in order to access life-saving and life-enhancing medical care, and we fully support its passage this year,” said Chad Lennox, Executive Director of Dialysis Patient Citizens, a national nonprofit patient advocacy organization representing more than 450 patients across the state of South Carolina. “All dialysis and kidney transplant patients deserve equal access to care, and Medigap legislation will go a long way in helping South Carolina’s patients in need.”

In addition to testimony from these South Carolina patients to advocate for the Medigap bill, NBA All-Star Alonzo Mourning, who is also a kidney transplant recipient and kidney care advocate, is planning to visit South Carolina legislators this month – as he also did for similar legislation passed in the state legislature and signed into law in Florida in 2009. Thanks to this legislation, approximately 500 Florida kidney failure patients can now purchase Medigap insurance, helping those who previously could not afford their co-pays and deductibles for their medications and dialysis care. Across the nation, 29 states have enacted Medigap legislation that is widely embraced by patients, family members, care advocates and taxpayers.

The South Carolina Senate bill also includes companion legislation in the House, H. 4552, sponsored by Representatives Joan Brady (R-Richland), Bill Sandifer (R-Seneca) and Kristopher Crawford (R-Florence). Read the full bill summary here:

http://www.scstatehouse.gov/cgi-bin/web_bh10.exe?bill1=1128&session=118&summary=T