As part of 2022 Chronic Disease Month (July), our partners at the Chronic Disease Coalition released a new tool to evaluate the accessibility of state legislatures across the country called the Patient Access Scorecard.
Of course, we were thrilled (and not surprised!) to see Oregon and Washington in the green. Since the pandemic began, Pacific Northwest legislatures have led the way in making sure everyone can still participate in the public process despite the need to stay distant from one another.
We hope it will always be this way. This is a critically important tool, especially for the kidney community. Chronic kidney disease is one of the most time-intensive and expensive chronic illnesses to manage, so taking the time and resources to go testify or meet with a legislator in person is often not feasible.
Thank you to all the legislators and advocates that are committed to ensuring the patient voice is heard during the legislative process. Learn more at chronicdiseasecoalition.org.