23% of Donors Can’t Pay For A TransplantJune 10, 2008
Posted Nov 04 2009 10:02pm
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I have written before about the inequality of the organ transplant system but the following information caused me and I hope you, too, to consider the topic again. It is particularly important now because it is an election year and now is the time to put pressure on candidates to make changes in the current health care system. Here is but another short chapter.
“Twenty three (23) percent oforgan donors are uninsured.” That means that despite being donors, they would not be eligible for transplants because they could not afford the cost of the procedure. The study goes on to say, “Financing an organ transplant out-of-pocket is prohibitive for all but the wealthiest of Americans. The estimated costs for a heart transplant during the first post-operative year is $478,900, according to the health-care consulting firm Milliman USA. Liver transplant patients typically incur about $393,000 in expenses during the first year” ( Important note…There is no cost associated with being a donor, the recipient’s insurance pays for all charges. The recipient, though, must have the financial resources to pay for the procedure or he/she will likely be denied a new organ).
As an aside, this information makes LifeSharers claims of equity even more absurd, unless LifeSharers will pay the cost of a transplant for the approximately 23 percent of its 11,000 plus members (2,530 people) who presumably lack the finances to afford a transplant..
One approach that would make the system more equitable is a national healthcare system that would provide funding for those people who otherwise would fall through the cracks. At this point, the United States is the only industrialized western nation that does not provide the kind of health care of which I speak.
The United States ranks 23 rd in infant mortality, down from 12 th in 1960 and 21 st in 1990
The United States ranks 20 in life expectancy for women down from 1 in 1945 and 13 in 1960
The United States ranks 21 in life expectancy for men down from 1st in 1945 and 17 in 1960.
If you really care about an equitable health plan in the U.S. write to your Congressperson or Senator now. Election years are about the only time elected officials really listen…well, kind of.
.
I have written before about the inequality of the organ transplant system but the following information caused me and I hope you, too, to consider the topic again. It is particularly important now because it is an election year and now is the time to put pressure on candidates to make changes in the current health care system. Here is but another short chapter.
According to a study by Southern Methodist University, http://www.smu.edu/newsinfo/excerpts/cardiac-donation-ethics.html )
“Twenty three (23) percent oforgan donors are uninsured.” That means that despite being donors, they would not be eligible for transplants because they could not afford the cost of the procedure. The study goes on to say, “Financing an organ transplant out-of-pocket is prohibitive for all but the wealthiest of Americans. The estimated costs for a heart transplant during the first post-operative year is $478,900, according to the health-care consulting firm Milliman USA. Liver transplant patients typically incur about $393,000 in expenses during the first year” ( Important note…There is no cost associated with being a donor, the recipient’s insurance pays for all charges. The recipient, though, must have the financial resources to pay for the procedure or he/she will likely be denied a new organ).
As an aside, this information makes LifeSharers claims of equity even more absurd, unless LifeSharers will pay the cost of a transplant for the approximately 23 percent of its 11,000 plus members (2,530 people) who presumably lack the finances to afford a transplant..
One approach that would make the system more equitable is a national healthcare system that would provide funding for those people who otherwise would fall through the cracks. At this point, the United States is the only industrialized western nation that does not provide the kind of health care of which I speak.
Additionally, under a national or universal health care system we might be able to address the following sorry statistics: ( http://cthealth.server101.com/the_case_for_universal_health_care_in_the_united_s )
If you really care about an equitable health plan in the U.S. write to your Congressperson or Senator now. Election years are about the only time elected officials really listen…well, kind of.
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