Posted on 31. Oct, 2011 by Kyle Pietari in Legislative Initiatives
After receiving a kidney transplant, a patient must take immunosuppressive drugs for the rest of his/her life, at a cost of about $19,000 per year. Without these drugs, the body will reject the organ and the patient will have to go on dialysis.
Under current law, Medicare covers these medication costs for three years only, but will cover much higher dialysis costs – about $77,000 per year – indefinitely.
The Comprehensive Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage for Kidney Transplant Patients Act, currently in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, will extend that Medicare coverage for the rest of the patient’s life. This will help patients to keep their kidney transplants while lowering Medicare costs. Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress support this measure.
It is good for transplant patients, good for taxpayers, and good for the national budget.
Please sign the petition to Congress below to urge your Members of Congress to support this legislation. You must include your zip code so we can send the petition to your Representative and Senators.
Thank you for your support.For a one-page summary of the bill, click here.
To sign petition: http://www.americantransplantfoundation.org/2011/10/petition-to-congress-support-anti-rejection-drug-coverage-bill/
0 COMMENTS:
Post a Comment