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Kidney disease is on the rise in Florida. That’s the word from Florida’s Kidney Foundation. Surveys show treatment and prescription cost are too expensive for many people struggling with the disease. Tuesday lawmakers offered a bill expanding Medigap coverage. Medigap policies offer relief by helping pay some healthcare costs not covered by Medicare. People with kidney disease have two options, transplant or dialysis. State Representative Anna Flores said transplants are hard to come by, so the main option is dialysis.

“You have patients that are hooked up to a machine for hours a day. Three, five, some people even seven or eight hours everyday,” said Anitere Flores, a state representative from Miami. “You can imagine that makes it very difficult or for some people impossible to work, to hold a job, to care for family. So this disease not only affects the patient but it affects their entire family.”

Kidney disease is prevalent in all ages. The problem is Medigap coverage is not offered to people under the age of 65. The Florida Kidney Foundation has formed a committee to try and expand coverage options. Their goal is to ease the burden of medical fees for Floridians facing chronic kidney disease.