SB 1156 targets kidney patients by letting insurers single them out Why would California state senators evenconsider creating a discriminatory health care environment for kidney patients?  End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is a disability under federal law. SB 1156 would allow insurers to treat ESRD patients differently, based merely on their disability and whether they receive charitable assistance. The bill would make it legal for insurers to target these patients for disenrollment. When insurers refuse charitable premium assistance on behalf of their enrollees, and the enrollees can no longer afford the coverage, the patients are dropped from their plan.  AKF’s need-based, federally approved, 21-year-old program pays for all types of insurance—Medicare Part B, Medigap, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, COBRA, employer group health, and private plans. We help people for the long term, providing assistance for the entire policy year. Nearly 4,000 California dialysis and transplant patients depend on this help from the American Kidney Fund—and health insurance companies cannot be allowed to take that away.  Make no mistake, this bill means that thousands of Californians with ESRD will lose their health insurance. The sponsors of this bill say ESRD patients should be on Medicare or Medi-Cal if they qualify. Most ESRD patients qualify for Medicare regardless of their age, and the majority of people AKF helps are on Medicare – which means we pay for their Medicare Part B premium and their Medicare supplemental coverage/Medigap (if they are over age 65; ESRD patients under 65 in California don’t have access to Medigap). Medicare supplemental coverage, including Medigap, is essential for ESRD patients as it pays for their out-of-pocket costs, which can be $7,000 or more annually. But what the bill sponsors are not telling you is that this bill would allow insurers to deny our charitable premium payments for Medigap, leaving low-income, elderly ESRD patients with no way to pay their out of pocket costs. Some may be eligible for Medi-Cal, but not all.  And because California is one of only two states that excludes ESRD patients under 65 from access to supplemental Medigap coverage, a private plan with an out-of-pocket maximum may be the right choice for an under-65. More than half of California dialysis patients are under 65, and disproportionately low-income and minorities.  This bill would harm some of the most at-risk people in California. There is no question – if people cannot afford their health care costs, some of them will die. This has nothing to do with providers, this is about patients who need access several times each week to life-saving treatment. Ask your CA State Senator to protect low-income ESRD patients AKF grants help California ESRD patients who cannot afford their health insurance. SB 1156 would allow insurers to target low-income kidney patients for disenrollment. Tell your state lawmaker: Vote NO! http://www.kidneyfund.org/advocacy/california/