insurance covering donation surgery

[pilotjjc3]

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?

[Karol]

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.