Commentary: Dialysis patients could be in jeopardy if current proposed legislation succeeds
There are two proposed pieces of legislation that if placed into law would leave myself and thousands of other dialysis patients across California with reduced access to care and the treatment we need to survive. Both Proposition 8, which will come before voters this fall, and state Senate Bill 1156, which is pending in the Legislature, would strip dialysis patients of the resources we need to live.
Two years ago, I was diagnosed with end-stage renal disease and began dialysis treatment immediately. I quickly learned the stress and pain this treatment causes and the financial toll it takes on your life. The side effects of dialysis treatment left me so tired that I had no choice but to quit my job. There was no way I would be able to sustain driving the 25 miles to work feeling exhausted, much less stay energetic during work hours.
Forced to leave work, apply for disability and retire, I began receiving a fraction of my former income. This was a rough adjustment as my husband, and I struggled to cover the medical costs associated with my new life. Thankfully, because of charitable assistance organizations, I was able to find a way to pay for and receive quality care at a nearby clinic. The insurance premiums we struggled to pay were covered by this assistance.
Beyond the support of my family and friends, I have found comfort in knowing my medical bills are taken care of because of charitable assistance and stability in the care I receive at my local clinic. I keep any activity local and timed so I can return to my clinic and my nurses for treatment.
Both Proposition 8 and SB 1156 not only threaten this comfort and stability, they threaten my health. SB 1156 threatens to restrict the charitable assistance I receive while Proposition 8 threatens to end my access to treatment and quality care. They both endanger my life and the lives of thousands of dialysis patients across California. Not one of us is safe from the domino effect of clinic closures that Proposition 8 would cause, and the most vulnerable patients like myself are placed at risk by the proposed restrictions to charitable assistance of SB 1156. Many of us rely on charitable assistance to keep the door to treatment open, but we all count on the lights being on when we get there.
Dialysis patients already live a life burdened by medical machinery, financial costs and the side effects of chronic illness. Prop 8 and SB 1156, which both claim to aid patients and reform the dialysis treatment industry, not only do more harm than good, they do the most harm. They threaten patient lives.
To legislators and voters considering SB 1156 and Proposition 8 respectively, I urge you to have some compassion and consider the thousands of lives at stake. Clinic closures and alterations to charitable assistance that patients rely on to pay for treatment could be devastating and cost patients their lives.
On behalf of the tens of thousands of dialysis patients and their families, I encourage California’s legislators to oppose SB 1156. I also ask that come November my fellow Californians stand with dialysis patients and vote NO on Proposition 8.
Sue Germaine is a Valley Village resident who receives her dialysis treatment in Burbank.
Sue Germaine is a Valley Village resident who receives her dialysis treatment in Burbank.