Letter to the Editor: Write to Your Legislators About Medicare Cuts

My kidneys stopped functioning several years ago. As a result, I rely on a dialysis 
machine to clean my blood. The treatments I receive three times a week for four hours at a time help me stay alive and somewhat healthy under the circumstances. Without dialysis I would have died a few years ago. Because of the care I receive, I am able to enjoy my family and have a better life than before I started dialysis. I have attended graduations, weddings and am looking forward to seeing my first grandchild in a few months. Without dialysis I would not be alive to enjoy these wonderful experiences.   

And now, these life-saving treatments are being threatened.  Recent cuts to Medicare proposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), would cut reimbursement for dialysis by over 9 percent. 

Patients like myself who suffer with kidney failure require dialysis to survive and at least 85 percent of us rely predominantly on Medicare. These proposed cuts will, without a doubt, have an enormous impact on our access to quality care. I am concerned that some facilities may close and for me, this would mean I would have to drive 10 miles to receive dialysis. Please take into consideration how you would look at this situation if it were to happen to you or a loved one. Thousands of people suffer from kidney disease and require this treatment.  

I urge your readers to join me and the National Kidney Foundation in getting the word out to our legislators who can make a difference. Please contact your Congressman be it Mrs. Ann Wagner, Mr. William (Lacy) Clay, Mr. Blaine Luetkemeyer, Mr. John Shimkus or Mr. Rodney Davis and ask them to protect patients like me who require Medicare funding for life-saving dialysis care. Our lives depend on it. 

Roy Whaley
Fenton, Mo.