Dialysis Patients Citizens

What Dialysis Patients Citizens does

Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) is a private non-profit, patient-led advocacy organization founded in 2012 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It serves approximately 35,000 members, restricted to kidney disease patients and their family members, and self-describes as the nation's largest patient-led organization working to improve the quality of life for dialysis patients. Its governance is structurally embedded with the patient community: bylaws require the President, Vice President, and at least 51% of the Board to be current dialysis patients.

DPC's core "products" are advocacy programs rather than commercial goods. These include free membership tiers (General Membership, Friends of DPC, Partners in Care), a volunteer Patient Ambassador Program, an Annual Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C., a monthly e-newsletter, interactive policy tools (the Medigap Report Card and KidneyAction.org action center), and dedicated state and federal advocacy tracks covering access to care, financial security, quality of care, patient choice, and patient care protection. The organization does not operate proprietary technology; its "platform" is its patient membership, ambassador network, and direct engagement with CMS, HRSA, and Congress.

The business model is donation-funded non-profit operations: membership is free, services are provided at no cost, and the organization raises contributions through its website and supporter base. GTM is community-led and event-driven — mobilizing patient advocates to write letters, make calls, hold events, and meet directly with lawmakers. Recent strategic activity centers on federal legislation (e.g., Kidney Care Access Protection Act, Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act), the April 2026 Ninth Circuit decision striking down major provisions of California AB 290, and state-level Medigap advocacy through partners such as the National Kidney Foundation Michigan.

Name

Dialysis Patients Citizens

Legal name

Dialysis Patient Citizens

Website

https://dialysispatients.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Dialysis Patient Citizens is a non-profit, patient-led advocacy organization founded in 2012 that mobilizes approximately 35,000 dialysis patients and family members to influence kidney-care policy with CMS, HRSA, and the U.S. Congress.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Patient Advocacy Services

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Patient Advocacy, Navigation & Access to Care (BPAGACAH)

Keywords

• Patient advocacy services
• Kidney disease policy
• Dialysis patient support
• Healthcare legislative advocacy
• Nonprofit patient organization

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations: DPC is a non-profit organization that relies on donations from supporters to fund its advocacy activities. The website includes a Donate button for supporters to contribute financially.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Dialysis Patient Citizens is a patient-led nonprofit advocacy organization that recruits, organizes, and represents dialysis and kidney disease patients before U.S. federal and state policymakers. It offers free membership tiers, trains volunteer patient ambassadors, hosts an Annual Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill, publishes policy and educational content, and operates grassroots advocacy tools (KidneyAction.org and a Medigap Report Card) to influence legislation and regulation on dialysis funding, insurance access, quality, and patient choice.

Product overview

Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) is the nation's largest patient-led advocacy organization for dialysis patients, offering a portfolio of membership programs, advocacy tools, and informational resources. The organization provides membership tiers (General Membership, Friends of DPC, Partners in Care) for patients, supporters, and healthcare professionals respectively. Key offerings include the Patient Ambassador Program for volunteer advocates, the Annual Advocacy Day event for meeting with Congress, a monthly E-Newsletter, an interactive Medigap Report Card, and the KidneyAction.org advocacy action center. DPC does not operate as a technology product company but rather as a nonprofit advocacy organization focused on policy issues affecting kidney disease patients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• National Kidney Foundation MichiganminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDPC partnered with National Kidney Foundation Michigan for the Kidney Walk event at the Detroit Zoo. DPC participated to advance state legislation expanding Medigap access and recruit additional patient advocates. NKF Michigan estimated over 3,000 registered walkers for the event.
• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)coreOthersDPC engages regularly with CMS on ESRD payment policy, quality incentive programs, and dialysis care standards. DPC participates in CMS Technical Expert Panels and submits comment letters on Medicare rules affecting dialysis patients.
• Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)coreOthersDPC submitted letters to HRSA regarding out-of-sequence organ allocations and transplant system equity concerns. DPC advocates for patient access to kidney transplantation through regulatory engagement.
• U.S. CongresscoreOthersDPC engages with Congressional members on key legislation including S. 2730/H.R. 6214 (Kidney Care Access Protection Act), H.R. 2199/S. 1173 (Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act), and other kidney disease policy initiatives.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• NephCure Kidney International: Nonprofit focused on rare kidney diseases (notably nephrotic syndrome) with research-funding and policy advocacy components. Adjacent in mission but smaller and more research-oriented than DPC.
• PKD Foundation: Disease-specific kidney nonprofit focused on polycystic kidney disease. Shares the kidney advocacy space but addresses a narrower patient subset, making it a partial overlap rather than direct competitor.

Direct peers

• American Kidney Fund: Major U.S. kidney patient charity providing financial assistance and advocacy for ESRD/dialysis patients. Most directly comparable peer given overlapping patient-advocacy mission and a shared focus on issues like charitable premium assistance, the subject of recent joint Ninth Circuit activity.
• National Kidney Foundation: Largest U.S. kidney disease nonprofit, conducting federal/state advocacy, patient education, and Kidney Walk events. DPC has an explicit co-marketing partnership with NKF Michigan, evidencing direct operational overlap on advocacy and patient mobilization.
• American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP): Independent kidney patient advocacy organization with similar federal policy focus on ESRD treatment choice, transplant access, and patient-centered research. Closely comparable in scope, scale, and patient-led governance orientation.
• Renal Support Network: Patient-led nonprofit providing emotional support and advocacy for people with chronic kidney disease and on dialysis. Overlaps directly with DPC's patient-empowerment and peer-support mission.

Broad incumbents

• Dialysis Clinic, Inc. (DCI): Large nonprofit dialysis provider operating hundreds of clinics nationally. Comparable as a kidney-focused nonprofit stakeholder but a provider rather than a patient-advocacy organization, making it adjacent to DPC's mission.

Others

• American Nephrology Nurses' Association (ANNA): Professional association for nephrology nurses engaged in workforce and policy advocacy touching ESRD care. Comparable as a kidney-space advocacy stakeholder but represents clinicians rather than patients, making it adjacent rather than competitive.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PatientCitizen
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/DialysisPatients
• Facebookfacebook.com/patientcitizens
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/patientcitizens
• Instagraminstagram.com/patientcitizens

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Dialysis Patients Citizens