U.S Representatives Michael C. Burgess, MD, R–Texas, and Ron Kind, D–Wis., have introduced HR 1325, the Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage for Kidney Transplant Patients Act, which would extend coverage of anti-rejection drugs for kidney transplant recipients.
This legislation would allow individuals who are eligible for immunosuppressive drugs under Medicare Part B to continue to receive their vital treatment past the current 36-month cutoff. Without these drugs, transplant recipients are at risk to lose their transplanted kidneys.
(Senate bill introduced to extend coverage of transplant drugs)
“It is incredibly cruel that the gravest threat to patients who have received a transplant is the federal government mandating that they can no longer receive treatment,” said Burgess, who is the vice chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health and co-chair of the Congressional Health Caucus. “Renal transplantation offers end-stage renal disease patients an alternative to a lifetime of dialysis. We need to ensure that patients receive the care they need and are not subject to the federal policy that denies coverage for anti-rejection drugs after 36 months. The result of not changing this policy is a costlier return to patients and the Medicare system to dialysis.”
~ Nephrology News & Issues
