Readers write
Kidney patients need help accessing care
I’ve been on dialysis — the only treatment besides a transplant for kidney failure — for eight years. The toll it takes physically, mentally and emotionally is constant.
But the hardest moment came when my clinic mismanaged my care so badly that I went three weeks without treatment. I switched back to my dialysis clinic soon after, where I trust my nephrologist and feel like a person, not a number.
Sadly, this isn’t unusual, especially in rural areas where patients face limited clinic options. They juggle complex medication regimens, family responsibilities, comorbidities and financial pressures, all while trying to survive.
The healthcare system doesn’t make it easier. For more than a decade, clinics have struggled with inadequate Medicare reimbursements. Even more, Medicare doesn’t cover innovative kidney care treatments and devices for more than two to three years — discouraging investment in effective ways to prevent fatal infections and anemia, control phosphorus levels and manage excruciatingly itchy skin.
We need better national policies to help this vulnerable patient population. That’s why I’m encouraging Congressman Everton Blair, D-Ga., to support the Kidney Care Access Protection Act, which would ensure longer coverage of breakthrough treatments and correct reimbursement issues.
CHRISTOPHER RICHARDS, DOUGLASVILLE
‘Affordability’ is just a rallying cry for the spoiled
With the midterms coming up, the Democrats are running on what they claim is an affordability crisis.
They claim people cannot afford necessities like food, gas and healthcare. No doubt these are costly and hard for some people to pay. However, in my opinion, there are a large number of people that are simply spoiled. One group of these spoiled people do not want to sacrifice their goodies to pay for their necessities. This group chooses to fly all over the USA and beyond, have their nails and hair professionally done, buy the latest athletic shoes, they consider a musical concert a must, and order fast foods delivered to their front door.
Another group might have their kids in private school or belong to a country club, dine out in expensive trendy restaurants and fly to exotic places, all the while they bellyache about the price of gas as they fill up their humongous SUVs. Or they whine about the high prices of deli meats while standing at the deli counter at the likes of Whole Foods. Both these groups can be seen at Starbucks buying a $6 cup of coffee that only gets them to the bathroom. While gas at $4 a gallon will at least get them 20-plus miles.
Both these groups might vote for Democrats, virtue signaling to those less fortunate, how they too “feel the pinch.” This could give the Democrats a big win.
BECKY SMITH, ROSWELL