Kidney patients ask for Medigap legislation March is National Kidney Month, so supporters are using it as an opportunity to bring attention to their mission.
By Ashleigh Messervy
Wednesday, March 03, 2010 at 1:50 p.m.
Read more: Local, State, Health, National Kidney Foundation, Medigap
COLUMBIA -- More than 50 dialysis patients, family members and kidney care advocates across South Carolina gathered at the State Capitol to ask lawmakers to support Medigap legislation.
March is National Kidney Month, so supporters are using it as an opportunity to bring attention to their mission.
According to the National Kidney Foundation, Medigap legislation will help patients and their families balance the costs between medical bills and everyday expenses.
Angela Lattimore suffers from end stage renal disease, ESRD, and said this measure would help patients like her tremendously.
"Medigap will help people like me with the burden of medical bills," Lattimore explains.
The 36-year-old, who is also an ambassador for the group Dialysis Patient Citizens, says financial constraints cause her to delay the care she desperately needs due to her inability to pay for previous visits.
Approximately 546,000 South Carolinians, one in eight residents, have chronic kidney disease, with about 7,500 suffering from ESRD and reliant upon dialysis to function for their failed kidneys.
On Wednesday, advocates are meeting with their legislators to push for Medigap reform.
http://www.midlandsconnect.com/news/story.aspx?id=424590
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