Dialysis patients’ stories expose risks of Medicare cutbacks
Charles Prozzillo’s life changed for the worse when Medicare stopped paying for his ambulance rides to dialysis a year ago.
The 72-year-old Pennsylvania man, who had been a hairdresser with his own
salon and volunteer firefighter in his younger days, was being treated for late
stage of kidney failure. Three times a week for five years he had gone to a
dialysis facility to have his blood cleansed of waste, a job his kidneys could
no longer do. The sessions gave him crams and tired him, but they kept
him alive. He could still sit up and walk a few steps. He wasn’t bedridden.
That’s why Medicare cut off his rides.
In December 2014, Medicare began a pilot program in three states, including
Pennsylvania, to cut down on what officials believed were improper…….