Hospitals are required to provide life-sustaining treatment for anyone who shows up in emergency rooms, paid for by Emergency Medicaid, until they can be safely discharged. However, the State of CT refuses to include OUTPATIENT dialysis treatment under emergency Medicaid.

Maria, an uninsured undocumented woman with end stage renal failure, has been trapped in Yale New Haven Hospital for 7 months. Without dialysis, her life would be over in a matter of days. With outpatient dialysis, Maria could live her life and care for her family. But because CT refuses to add outpatient dialysis as a treatment covered under Emergency Medicaid, the only way she can receive the life-sustaining treatment she needs is to stay in hospital. Her other option would be to leave the hospital and wait until her life is in danger of ending, show up at the emergency room and hope to get emergency dialysis. THis is a terrifying existence.

The solution is easy, CT needs to allow the outpatient dialysis treatment to be covered under emergency Medicaid, this is an administrative issue that the Department of Social Services and Gov Lamont can easily fix. Not doing so would be unacceptable!

At least 14 other states cover outpatient dialysis treatment under Emergency Medicaid, including Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, Colorado and Utah. Connecticut must do what is right. Doing so is not only the moral choice, but the fiscally sound choice. Emergency department dialysis costs $285K-$400K per person per year, while standard outpatient dialysis only costs $76K-$90K.

Use this tool 👉 to send a letter DIRECTLY to Governor Lamont and demand that he take action to include outpatient dialysis as treatment covered under Emergency Medicaid.