Penny Wise, Pound Foolish? Coverage Limits on Immunosuppression after Kidney Tra

[Clark]

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1114394

Pespective
Penny Wise, Pound Foolish? Coverage Limits on Immunosuppression after Kidney Transplantation
John S. Gill, M.D., and Marcello Tonelli, M.D.
N Engl J Med 2012; 366:586-589February 16, 2012DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp1114394

As a treatment for end-stage renal disease (ESRD), kidney transplantation is superior to dialysis for improving patient survival rates and quality of life. Its long-term success, however, requires ongoing treatment with immunosuppressive drugs. Ironically, although many of the pivotal discoveries related to immunosuppression have been made in the United States, U.S. kidney-transplant recipients do not benefit from a coherent funding policy for these drugs, and thousands of such patients are therefore at risk for allograft failure and premature death. Ensuring lifetime access to these medications for all Americans with kidney transplants would save lives as well as reduce the total cost of treating patients with ESRD.

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