SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KTXL) — For the third election in a row, there’s pressure on the ballot to change how the dialysis industry works. It’s called Proposition 29 and while there is a renewed effort to push it through, there is also organized opposition against it.
The essential function of a dialysis machine is to serve as an artificial kidney of sorts, taking blood from a patient’s body, filtering that blood, and then returning it to the body.
“Dialysis is a vital process that keeps me alive,” DeWayne Cox told FOX40 News. “Without that, I wouldn’t be here with you.”
Cox is one of 80,000 Californians who must use a dialysis machine three times a week, for four hours at a time. Cox has had to regularly visit dialysis clinics for treatment since he was first diagnosed with kidney failure more than 12 years ago.
“Even though it’s difficult and sometimes painful, it’s the best process currently available to patients, other than a kidney transplant,” Cox said.
He fears that the California dialysis industry will soon change everything because of this election measure.
“We have to defeat Proposition 29,” Cox said.
Just as California saw with similar ballot measures in the 2020 and 2018 elections, Proposition 29 would require dialysis clinics to have either a physician, nurse practitioner, or medical assistant physically onsite at dialysis clinics. dialysis, or in some cases via telehealth.
The “Yes on 29” campaign argues that having this type of medical professional on site will ensure that clinics are prepared for emergencies.
Renée Saldaña, of SEIU United Healthcare Workers West and a supporter of “Yes on 29”, says that “patients can pass out, they can suffer heart attacks or bleed uncontrollably during or after treatments”.
“Proposition 29 is to get dialysis patients on-site physician – an advanced physician or clinician – who can handle life or death situations in an emergency.”
The ‘Yes on the 29th’ campaign, including the SEIU United Healthcare Workers West Union, points out that the measure would also require California’s 600 dialysis clinics to report infection data to the state and require doctors to share publicly. when they have more than 5% ownership of a clinic. The state would also have to give final approval before a clinic closes or reduces staff.
“We want to improve the quality of care for patients across the state, and that’s the core of our issues: improving the quality of care,” Saldaña said.
But the ‘No to 29’ campaign, funded largely by dialysis providers DaVita and Fresenius Medical Care, argues the measure’s staffing requirements would be too onerous, forcing some clinics to close.
The “Yes to 29” campaign disputes that claim, but Cox says the clinic closings under Proposition 29 are a valid concern, and it’s something he doesn’t want to risk.
“This means that dialysis patients who normally have to rely on dialysis centers to be there for them will have to find other places that are likely further from home, harder to get to, and some might miss dialysis sessions like I did it once. And I ended up in the emergency room. It’s dangerous, scary and potentially deadly,” Cox said.