United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2007-09-28 monographic deposited born digital 32 p. GA 1.13:GAO-07-1117 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-1117 P0b002ee180372b52 f:d071117 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-1117 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-1117 GAO-07-1117 Adolescent health Comparative analysis Cost analysis Dialysis Drugs Health care costs Health insurance Health statistics Medicaid Medical economic analysis Medically uninsured Medicare Transplantation of organs, tissues, etc. Urologic diseases State Children's Health Insurance Program Other Written Product A76807 For individuals with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), the permanent loss of kidney function, Medicare covers kidney transplants and 36 months of follow-up care. Kidney transplant recipients must take costly medications to avoid transplant failure. Unless a transplant recipient is eligible for Medicare other than on the basis of ESRD, Medicare coverage, including that for medications, ends 36 months posttransplant. Pediatric transplant recipients, including those who were under 18 when transplanted but are now adults (transitional recipients), may be more likely than their adult counterparts to lose access to medications once Medicare coverage ends because they may lack access to other health insurance coverage. GAO was asked to examine (1) the percentage of transplant failures and subsequent outcomes--retransplant, dialysis, or death--among pediatric, transitional, and adult kidney transplant recipients and (2) how the cost to Medicare for a beneficiary with a functioning transplant compares with the cost for a beneficiary with a transplant failure. To do this, GAO analyzed 1997 through 2004 data from the United States Renal Data System (USRDS) and interviewed officials from pediatric transplant centers. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services--the agency that administers Medicare--commented that it is concerned about beneficiary outcomes and has an education program to help them. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-1117/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-1117.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-1117/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-1117.pdf GAO-07-1117 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-1117 Other Written Product GAO-07-1117; End-Stage Renal Disease: Characteristics of Kidney Transplant Recipients, Frequency of Transplant Failures, and Cost to Medicare; Adolescent health Comparative analysis Cost analysis Dialysis Drugs Health care costs Health insurance Health statistics Medicaid Medical economic analysis Medically uninsured Medicare Transplantation of organs, tissues, etc. Urologic diseases State Children's Health Insurance Program