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Last year, as a result of the dedicated efforts of hundreds of members of the bleeding disorders community, working with a coalition of organizations that included NHF, the Hemophilia Federation of America (HFA), the Committee of Ten Thousand (COTT), clotting factor manufacturers and others, a bill to improve healthcare coverage for people on Medicare was introduced for the first time. The original sponsors, Representatives Philip English (R-PA) and Bobby Rush (D-IL), have now reintroduced the bill in the current session as the H.R. 1282, the Medigap Access Improvement Act.  

Medigap policies are a form of supplemental insurance that pays for expenses not covered by Medicare, including the 20% co-payment which most people with chronic high-cost conditions like hemophilia simply cannot afford. Currently, people who qualify for Medicare because of age may purchase these policies. However, in 26 states they are not available to people who qualify because of a disabling condition, including complications of hemophilia. During the recent NHF Washington Days, members of the bleeding disorders community met with their elected representatives and asked them to support this important legislation, and many said they would.

CLICK HERE TO A LIST OF CURRENT COSPONSORS

Even if you could not make it to Washington Days, there are lots of things you can do to help us get cosponsors for this legislation, and ultimately get it passed. You can meet with your representative in the district office, or call their staff on the phone and let them know this is important to you.

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT WHO YOUR REPRESENTATIVE IS
CLICK HERE FOR A FACT SHEET ABOUT THE LEGISLATION
CLICK HERE FOR TALKING POINTS ON THE LEGISLATION

You can also send an email to your representative right from this page. Just go to the preformatted letter below, customize it in any way you wish to make it more personal, fill out the information on the right-hand side of this page, and click!

Thank you for helping NHF and the bleeding disorders community get this important legislation enacted. For more information, please contact Glenn Mones, NHF’s Vice President for Public Policy at gmones@hemophilia.org, or Andrew Wurtzel of MARC Associates, NHF’s Washington representatives, at Andrew@marcassoc.com.