I'm a lobbyist. No, really — the good kind.

When I tell people I am a lobbyist, an audible gasp usually follows. I get it. When most people hear that word, they picture expensive lunches, shady backroom deals, and someone else's agenda being pushed at their expense. But I love stopping people mid-gasp to say: hold on, I am a good one. 

I work for the American Kidney Fund, which means I have the honor of advocating for people living with kidney disease, people on dialysis, transplant recipients, living donors and caregivers. I get to walk into a legislator's office and explain why their constituents need better insurance protections, job security if they donate a kidney and access to testing that could be lifesaving. 

This year, our three-person state team had a session I will not forget anytime soon. Here's a look at what we've been up to. 

The numbers 

Although some state legislatures are still in session, most have wrapped up. Since January, our team has had over 426 meetings with lawmakers and their staff about kidney-related issues and policies. We have submitted or signed onto 25 letters and have testified — in writing or in person — 60 times. That is a lot of interaction with people who may or may not have ever thought about kidney disease before hearing from us. 

The wins 

The bills we focus on fall into a few buckets: insurance protections, supporting and expanding leave for people who donate an organ, and making sure you can get the screenings and testing you need. This year, we had wins in all these categories. 

Living donor protections 

If you have ever thought about donating a kidney to someone you love, one of the biggest fears is what it might cost you — not just physically, but financially. Will your life insurance be impossible to afford? Will you lose your job while you recover? The Living Donor Protection Act addresses these issues. It prohibits life, disability and long-term care insurers from denying you coverage, raising your premiums or canceling your policy because you made one of the most generous decisions a person can make.  

So far this year, living donor protection legislation was signed into law in Alabama, Iowa, South Dakota and Tennessee. Alabama's legislation also added four weeks of paid leave for state government employees and a tax credit for private employers who offer paid leave to their living donor employees. Louisiana covered state employees with paid leave and made sure private sector workers also have job-protected time to recover, and Virginia passed a paid family and medical leave law that extends important protections to workers across the state. 

Prevention 

On the screening and testing side, Colorado passed a law requiring insurance to cover kidney function screening as a preventive benefit, so you can get tested without a copay. Both Mississippi and Tennessee now require commercial insurance plans and Medicaid to cover biomarker testing, which helps your doctor figure out which treatment is most likely to work for you.  

These are the kinds of laws that can catch kidney disease earlier and get people the right care sooner. 

What people don't see 

Politics is complicated, and legislators have a hundred factors pulling at them. There is no formula that turns a meeting or a letter into a passed bill. What I can tell you is that the thing that moves policymakers most, every single time, is a real story from a real person.

A fact sheet can lay out the facts, but your story makes a legislator feel them. When you share what it is actually like to live with kidney disease, to donate a kidney to someone you love or to sit with a family member through dialysis, it changes the conversation in a way that nothing our team does on its own ever could. Legislators are people, and people respond to other people. 

The good news is that sharing your story does not require a trip to the statehouse. Most of the time it looks like responding to a grassroots action alert AKF sends by email, text or Facebook, and taking a few minutes to contact your legislator directly. Sometimes it is a phone call to a local office, or an email that explains what a bill would mean for you and your family. Occasionally it is the chance to testify in person, which is powerful when it happens, but it is far from the only way to make an impact. Lawmakers pay attention to the people who live and vote in their district. A message from a constituent living with kidney disease carries real weight.

We are proud of what our team accomplished this session, but our efforts have the most impact when we work together with you. If you have not already signed up for our action alerts, please do so today — we would love to get you involved. It is one of the easiest and most effective ways to fight for the kidney community.