TRUST’s FAP Has Made Over 500 Individual Grants to Help People on Dialysis Manage Medical Costs

Over the past year the TRUST has piloted a financial assistance program for people on dialysis who are having trouble managing co-pays, co-insurance and deductibles for medical treatment, services, and prescription drugs.  The recently-concluded Fall 2009 FAP Pilot was offered to residents of California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Maryland, Texas, and Virginia. Since the start of the program over 500 grants have been awarded and approximately $1.2 million in funds committed to grant recipients.

According to TRUST President Barbara Lawson, “The TRUST believes that helping people on dialysis keep working and retain their insurance gives them more control of their health outcomes. And we think that health outcomes are going to be better if those on dialysis don’t have to choose between spending their last few dollars every month on groceries versus co-pays for drugs.”

The feedback from grantees has been very positive. One grant participant put it this way: “The grant was simply a godsend for me and the entire family. We were really struggling. I was starting to think about skipping some of the drugs I was supposed to be taking and splitting pills to make them last. With the grant, all the worry went away. It was really the missing piece of the puzzle.”

Another participant from Colorado said, “The Kidney TRUST grant has meant so much to our family. It came at a time when medical bills were accumulating and money was running short. If it was not for this grant I do not know how we could have paid for my husband’s medications.” A California participant added, “The Kidney TRUST grant gave me peace of mind. After a difficult surgery, I knew that the cost of medications would not be an issue.”

Although the Fall 2009 FAP pilot is over, the TRUST plans to reopen the financial assistance program in 2010. Visit our website at www.kidneytrust.org for future program announcements.