[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 8 (Thursday, January 16, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S1082]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DeWINE:
  S. 191. A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to 
provide adequate coverage for immunosuppressive drugs furnished to 
beneficiaries under the medicare program that have received a kidney 
transplant, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I rise today to join my friend and 
colleague, Senator Durbin, in introducing a bill to help organ 
transplant patients maintain access to the life-saving drugs necessary 
to prevent their immune systems from rejecting their new organs.
  Tragically, today over 86,000 Americans are waiting for a donor 
organ. Those individuals who are blessed to receive an organ transplant 
must take immunosuppressive drugs every day for the life of their 
transplant. Failure to take these drugs significantly increases the 
risk that the transplanted organ will be rejected.
  We need this bill, because Federal law is compromising the success of 
organ transplants. Let me explain. Right now, current Medicare policy 
denies certain transplant patients coverage for the drugs needed to 
prevent rejection. Medicare does not pay for anti-rejection drugs for 
Medicare beneficiaries, who received their transplants prior to 
becoming a Medicare beneficiary. So, for instance, if a person received 
a transplant at age 64 through his or her health insurance plan, when 
that person retires and relies on Medicare for health care coverage, he 
or she would no longer have immunosuppressive drug coverage.
  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 transplantation to be researching the intricate nuances of 
Medicare coverage policy.
  End Stage Renal Disease, ESRD, patients qualify for Medicare on the 
basis of needing dialysis. If End Stage Renal Disease patients receive 
a kidney transplant, they qualify for Medicare coverage for three years 
after the transplant. After the three years are up, they lose not only 
their general Medicare coverage, but also their coverage for 
immunosuppressive drugs.
  The amendment that Senator Durbin and I are introducing today would 
remove the Medicare limitations and make clear that all Medicare 
beneficiaries including End Stage Renal Disease patients who have had a 
transplant and need immunosuppressive drugs to prevent rejection of 
their transplant, will be covered as long as such anti-rejection drugs 
are needed.
  In the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and 
Protection Act, Congress eliminated the 36-month time limitation for 
transplant recipients who both receive a Medicare eligible transplant 
and are eligible for Medicare based on age or disability. Our bill 
would provide the same indefinite coverage to kidney transplant 
recipients who are not Medicare-aged or Medicare-disabled.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation and help those who 
receive Medicare-eligible transplants to gain access to the 
immunosuppressive drugs they need to live healthy, productive lives.
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