[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2201 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2201

   To delay the effective date of the final rule promulgated by the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services regarding the Organ Procurement 
                      and Transplantation Network.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 22, 1998

 Mr. Torricelli (for himself, Mr. Gorton, Mr. Feingold, Mr. Mack, Mr. 
  Sessions, Mr. Thurmond, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Breaux, Mr. Hollings, Mr. 
Lautenberg, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Smith of Oregon, and Mr. Shelby) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                 Committee on Labor and Human Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To delay the effective date of the final rule promulgated by the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services regarding the Organ Procurement 
                      and Transplantation Network.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The national transplant system, established by the 
        National Organ Transplant Act of 1984, has saved over 200,000 
        lives. In 1998, 20,000 lives were saved by donated organs. 
        Approximately 60,000 Americans currently are awaiting an organ 
        transplant.
            (2) Every 16 minutes a new name is added to the national 
        organ waiting list.
            (3) Every day in the United States, 11 people on the 
        national waiting list die (more than 4,000 every year) because 
        there are not enough donated organs.
            (4) Eliminating the geographic criteria for donor organ 
        allocation, as proposed by the Department of Health and Human 
        Services, will have potentially negative consequences for the 
        nation.
            (5) Eliminating the geographic criteria for donor organ 
        allocation will make organ transplants economically prohibitive 
        for a large percentage of the population, especially for the 22 
        percent of transplant recipients covered under the medicaid 
        program.
            (6) The following provisions proposed by the Department of 
        Health and Human Services with respect to organ donation are 
        appropriate and workable and should be studied--
                    (A) the standardized listing criteria for patient 
                placement on lists;
                    (B) the standardized criteria for determining 
                current medical status based on objective and 
                measurable medical criteria;
                    (C) the provision of enforcement authority; and
                    (D) the requirement of full and timely disclosure 
                by transplant centers of waiting list times and 
                survival statistics to potential patients.

SEC. 2. DELAY OF EFFECTIVE DATE OF FINAL RULE REGARDING ORGAN 
              PROCUREMENT AND TRANSPLANTATION NETWORK.

    (a) In General.--During the 1-year period beginning on the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
may not modify regulations that, as of such date, are in effect with 
respect to the operation of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation 
Network under section 372 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
274), including regulations under section 1138 of the Social Security 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b-8) with respect to such Network. During such 1-
year period, the final rule published in the Federal Register to 
establish part 121 in title 42, Code of Federal Regulations, has no 
legal effect.
    (b) Guidelines.--During the 1-year period described in subsection 
(a), the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall consult with 
appropriate individuals and organizations in the medical community, 
including national and local organ donation organizations (including 
those serving low-income patients), to develop workable guidelines with 
respect to the operation of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation 
Network.
    (c) Study.--Prior to the implementation of any modifications to the 
regulations described in subsection (a), the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services shall conduct a study to determine the impact of such 
proposed modifications on indigent care, economic and geographic access 
to transplantation services, transplantation outcome and survival rate, 
and waiting list time by organ. The Secretary shall ensure that any 
such modifications, together with the results of the study, are open 
for public comment for a period of at least 90-days prior to the 
effective date of such modifications.
                                 <all>