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Two dialysis patient care ballot initiatives filed in California
On 9 August 2017, the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) filed the Kidney Dialysis Patient Protection Act (.pdf; 710KB) ballot initiative for the November...
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New York City unions reach labor agreement with Fresenius
Two unions that participated in a one-day strike against Fresenius in June 2017 — the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) District 1199...
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Lara tables California Dialysis Patient Safety Act
California State Senator Ricardo Lara (D‑Bell Gardens) introduced the California Dialysis Patient Safety Act (SB 349) on 15 February 2017 with the strong support of the Service Employees International...
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AV fistula created with magnets and radiofrequency energy instead of surgery
According to a study published in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases, radiofrequency energy can be used instead of invasive surgery to create arterio-venous fistulas (AV fistula) for hemodialysis...
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DaVita resolves yet another allegation of illegality
According to a US Department of Justice (DOJ) media release, DaVita Rx, the pharmacy services business unit of Denver-based dialysis service provider DaVita Inc., has agreed to pay US$63.7 million to...
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Anemia found to be significant risk factor for hemorrhagic stroke in...
Kazuhiko Tsuruya of Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan and colleagues studied 3,436 hemodialysis patients from 39 Japanese dialysis facilities, finding that a first hemorrhagic stroke occurred in 76...
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It’s better to be seen than viewed, right?
“It’s better to be seen than viewed, right?” That’s what my friend Joe at the Sinclair gas station five blocks or so east said after he asked what was new with me. We both remarked about how we had...
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SEIU-UHW to deliver 600,000 signatures demanding cap on dialysis reimbursement
The Service Employees International Union–United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW), one of the largest healthcare unions in the US, has collected more than 600,000 signatures from California voters...
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Hemodialysis treatment linked to cerebral blood flow decline in elderly patients
Harmke Polinder-Bos and her colleagues at the University Medical Center Groningen, The Netherlands, studied the effects of hemodialysis on cerebral blood flow (CBF) as measured by special positron...
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Medicare and hospice care
Two years ago, I quietly decided that at some point — not then, and not in the then-foreseeable future — I would consciously elect to refuse hemodialysis treatment and spend my remaining days in...
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Medicare changes for 2019
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) first outlined its intended changes to Medicare for fiscal year (FY) 2019 with its 28 December 2017 proposed rule. Much of this was finalized in...
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Fresenius hires operatives to intimidate hemodialysis patients
Fresenius, one of the two largest corporate providers of dialysis services in the US, has reportedly hired operatives to pressure end-stage renal disease (ESRD; permanent and incurable kidney failure)...
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The emotional impact of illness and care
Ann M. O’Hare, a University of Washington nephrology professor, was lead author on a study examining the emotional toll of the disease and its treatment on patients with advanced kidney disease. O’Hare...
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CMS proposes big raise for providers in 2019 dialysis bundle
On 11 July 2018, the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its calendar year 2019 proposed rule for its end-stage renal disease (ESRD) Prospective Payment System (PPS) (commonly...
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Risk of stroke and death is higher for chronic kidney disease patients with...
A study by a group of researchers led by Karolina Szummer ($$) of Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden found that chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients who develop atrial fibrillation...
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Same shit, different year: The PATIENTS Demonstration Act
Here we go again, with at least the third annual attempt by the two dominant corporate providers of dialysis services to end-stage renal disease (ESRD; permanent, incurable kidney failure) patients to...
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Ohio Supreme Court invalidates dialysis ballot initiative
Ohio is one of 21 US states that allows “initiated state statutes,” more commonly known as ballot initiatives. In late February 2018, advocates and the Service Employees International Union-United...
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Clutch slipping, eh?
In-center hemodialysis treatments on Mondays are usually the worst for me. Partly because from Friday evening to Monday afternoon is my longest time span between regularly scheduled treatments. Mostly...
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California dialysis bill awaits governor’s signature
SB1156, Health care service plans and health insurance: 3rd-party payments, would restrict third-party health insurance premium assistance provided by corporate providers of dialysis services through...
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Right livelihood and California’s Proposition 8
If we can’t agree — locally, nationally, globally — that healthcare is a basic human right and that corporations providing healthcare services should be required to consider the positive impact of its...
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