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HEHS-94-207R 1 (1994-08-01)

handle is hein.gao/gaobackpt0001 and id is 1 raw text is: (3 O United States I\() General Accounting Office Washington, D.C. 20548 Human Resources Division B-257891 August 1, 1994 The Honorable Jimmy Hayes House of Representatives Dear Mr. Hayes: Most patients who receive organ transplants take immunosuppressant drugs to lower the chance that their bodies will reject the transplanted organs. These drugs are quite expensive--costing from $4,000 to $6,000 per patient per year--and most patients must continue to take them throughout their lives. You expressed concern about patients' ability to afford these drugs. You asked us to obtain information on the number of organ transplants, survival rates for patients who receive them, the cost of extending Medicare coverage of immunosuppressant drugs, and whether such drugs would be covered under the various health reform proposals. Over 16,000 organ transplants were performed in 1991, the latest year for which published data are available, and the number of transplants is increasing steadily. The length of time that patients survive after a transplant has also been increasing. These two factors indicate that the number of patients needing immunosuppressant drug therapy is increasing and will probably continue to do so over time. Under the administration plan, the W. Thomas/Chafee proposal, and the McDermott/Wellstone single-payer option, prescription drugs would be included in the benefit package. The Cooper/Breaux plan does not explicitly define the benefits to be provided.' Medicare currently covers immunosuppressant drugs for 1 year after transplantation, but this is being increased incrementally to 3 years by 1998. Extending coverage to 6 years would essentially double the costs to Medicare, adding annual costs of approximately $115 million to the program (see pp. 5 and 6). The administration plan would add coverage of 'The administration plan is H.R. 3600/S. 1757, the W. Thomas/Chafee plan is H.R. 3704/S. 1770, the McDermott/Wellstone plan is H.R. 1200/S. 491, and the Cooper/Breaux plan is H.R. 3222/S. 1579. GAO/HEHS-94-207R Immunosuppressant Drugs

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