There was an article in our local paper about a father who is set to receive a kidney from his grown son. The article talked about a fundraiser because it said that the donation surgery wouldn't be covered by insurance. From what I remembered about my donation, the insurance for the recipient covers both surgeries. Are there circumstances when the insurance wouldn't cover it? They said it will cost them up to $200,000 for the donation surgery. Has anyone run into situations when the insurance wouldn't cover it?
If the patient was without private insurance, he should still qualify for Medicare if he had paid into his taxes. Even so, Medicare covers about 80% and 2 surgeries could cost approx. $380,000 or more, so he would be responsible for the balance of $76,000. On top of that, Medicare only covers anti-rejection meds for 3 years, so a patient needs to ensure their coverage for a long time, and they cost $1200 a month. So the way it is now, some people do not qualify for a transplant due to their financial situation.