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Author Topic: U.S.A.: Living Donor Protection Act can lower costs and save lives  (Read 6756 times)

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Offline Clark

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http://www.nephrologynews.com/living-donor-protection-act-can-lower-costs-and-save-lives/

Living Donor Protection Act can lower costs and save lives

REBECCA ZUMOFF

As the debate over the Affordable Care Act continues, one piece of legislation is offering simple steps to address a growing health concern, the Living Donor Protection Act of 2017. The bill was introduced in the House on March 1 by Representatives Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., and Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash.
Kidney transplantation is the gold standard treatment for end-stage renal disease, and increasing its availability can save lives, improve quality of life for ESRD patients, and save Medicare a significant amount of money. The goal of health policy reform should be to increase access to care and reduce costs. This bill would do that, and is free of partisan politics, a quality that is becoming increasingly rare on the Hill.
The Living Donor Protection Act would protect living organ donors and promote organ donation in three ways:
   1   Prohibits life, disability, and long term care insurance companies from denying or limiting coverage and from charging higher premiums for living organ donors.
   2   Clarifies that living organ donors may use Family and Medical Leave Act time to recover from the surgeries and procedures involved in their donation.
   3   Directs HHS to update their materials on live organ donation to reflect these new protections and encourage more individuals to consider donating an organ.
“It’s unfortunate that even today we still see our nation’s living donors being denied insurance or having their premiums increased because they made a selfless decision to donate an organ to someone in need,” said Kevin Longino, CEO of the National Kidney Foundation. “This bill is an important first step to increase access to transplantation by removing the appalling barriers facing living kidney and liver donors. The National Kidney Foundation urges all members of Congress to support this bi-partisan legislation.”
Protecting living donors from insurance discrimination is imperative to increasing donation rates. I will be calling my representatives to support this bill. I urge you to do the same.

Unrelated directed kidney donor in 2003, recipient and I both well.
620 time blood and platelet donor since 1976 and still giving!
Elected to the OPTN/UNOS Boards of Directors & Executive, Kidney Transplantation, and Ad Hoc Public Solicitation of Organ Donors Committees, 2005-2011
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Offline GlennaFrey

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Re: U.S.A.: Living Donor Protection Act can lower costs and save lives
« Reply #1 on: May 29, 2019, 09:27:33 AM »
The Living Donor Protection Act continues to make progress and gain support. 
I participate in the coalition to promote living kidney donation www.facebook.com/livingdonationcoalition, organized by Josh Morrison at www.waitlistzero.org and am a Health Policy Representative for my local American Nephrology Nurses Association (ANNA).
I will be in Washington DC June 10 & 11, 2019 advocating for the Living Donor Protection Act and other kidney related issues.

 

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