Newswise — Washington, DC (November 7, 2019) — Extending Medicare coverage of transplant medications would benefit patients and reduce healthcare costs. The findings come from a study that will be presented at ASN Kidney Week 2019 November 5–November 10 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC.
Currently, Medicare provides insurance coverage for anti-rejection medications for only 36 months for all patients who have undergone kidney transplantation. Therefore, unless a patient has another reason to be eligible for Medicare insurance, they will be left without coverage after 3 years. This may lead to patients not being able to afford medications and to subsequent rejection of transplants.
Matthew Kadatz, MD (University of British Columbia) and his colleagues evaluated the costs and effectiveness of extending Medicare coverage of anti-rejection medications to the lifetime of a kidney transplant recipient, assuming this would result in a reduction in transplant rejection and subsequent transplant failure.
In the team’s model, the extension of Medicare coverage of anti-rejection medication led to lower costs and an improvement in quality of life for patients who received a kidney transplant.
“This study shows that extending immunosuppression coverage would likely be cost-saving to Medicare assuming it reduces the risk of transplant failure. This supports legislation currently being proposed to Congress to extend Medicare coverage of anti-rejection medications for kidney transplant recipients,” said Dr. Kadatz. “Further study is needed to evaluate how much benefit is truly obtained from extended anti-rejection coverage if this policy change is implemented.”
Study: “Economic Evaluation of Lifelong Medicare Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage for Kidney Transplant Recipients”
ASN Kidney Week 2019, the largest nephrology meeting of its kind, will provide a forum for more than 13,000 professionals to discuss the latest findings in kidney health research and engage in educational sessions related to advances in the care of patients with kidney and related disorders. Kidney Week 2019 will take place November 5 – November 10 in Washington, DC.
Since 1966, ASN has been leading the fight to prevent, treat, and cure kidney diseases throughout the world by educating health professionals and scientists, advancing research and innovation, communicating new knowledge, and advocating for the highest quality care for patients. ASN has more than 20,000 members representing 131 countries. For more information, please visit www.asn-online.org or contact the society at 202-640-4660.
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