[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 115 (Monday, September 25, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1581]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCTION OF THE COMPREHENSIVE IMMUNOSUP- PRESSIVE DRUG COVERAGE FOR 
                    TRANSPLANT PATIENTS ACT OF 2000

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                             HON. DAVE CAMP

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 25, 2000

  Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, today, I introduced the Comprehensive 
Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage for Transplant Patients of 2000 Act 
which will help Medicare beneficiaries who have had organ transplants. 
Every year, over 6,000 people die waiting for an organ transplant. 
Currently, over 67,000 Americans are waiting for a donor organ.
  Given that organs are extremely scarce, Federal law should not 
compromise the success of organ transplantation. Yet that is exactly 
what current Medicare policy does, because Medicare denies certain 
transplant patients coverage for the drugs needed to prevent rejection. 
Medicare does this in three different ways.
  First, Medicare has time limits on coverage of immunosuppressive 
drugs. Medicare law only provides immunosuppressive drug coverage for 
three years with expanded coverage totaling 3 years and 8 months 
between 2000 and 2004. However, 61 percent of patients receiving a 
kidney transplant after someone has died still have the graft intact 
five years after transplantation. Nearly 77 percent of patients 
receiving a kidney from a live donor still have their transplant intact 
after five years. For livers, the graft survival rate after five years 
is 62 percent. For hearts, the five year graft survival rate is nearly 
68 percent. So many Medicare beneficiaries lose coverage of the 
essential drugs that are needed to maintain their transplant.
  Second, Medicare does not pay for anti-rejection drugs of Medicare 
beneficiaries, who received their transplant prior to becoming a 
Medicare beneficiary. So for instance, if a person received a 
transplant at age 64 through their health insurance plan, when they 
retire and rely on Medicare for their health care they will no longer 
have immunosuppressive drug coverage.
  Third, Medicare only pays for anti-rejection drugs for transplants 
performed in a Medicare approved transplant facility. However, many 
beneficiaries are completely unaware of this fact and how it can 
jeopardize their future coverage of immunosuppressive drugs. To receive 
an organ transplant, a person must be very ill and many are far too ill 
at the time of transplant to be researching the intricate nuances of 
Medicare coverage policy.
  The bill that I am introducing today, the ``Comprehensive 
Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage for Transplant Patients of 2000 Act'' 
would remove these short-sighted limitations. The bill establishes a 
new, easy to follow policy: All Medicare beneficiaries who have had a 
transplant and need immunosuppressive drugs to prevent rejection of 
their transplant, would be covered as long as such anti-rejection drugs 
were needed.
  As Congress considers further improvements to the Medicare program, I 
urge my colleagues to support this important effort to ensure patients 
waiting on the organ transplant have access to the anti-rejection drugs 
that are so needed.




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