Young commends HHS finalizing rule to improve organ donations across America

U.S. Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) applauded a Nov. 20 announcement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to finalize a rule mirroring legislation he introduced to increase the supply of life-saving organs available for transplant in the United States.

“The nearly 109,000 Americans who are currently waiting on an organ transplant, including 1,124 Hoosiers, can rest a little easier knowing that this rule is going to result in more organs reaching the patients who need them,” Sen. Young said. 

The rule, which is being finalized through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, enacts sweeping reform of the Medicare Conditions for Coverage for Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs). 

OPOs, which are entities that seek organs for the 113,000 Americans on waitlists, must meet minimum quality measure thresholds in the Conditions for Coverage to receive Medicare and Medicaid payment, according to HHS, which added that the current measures are based on self-reported data that disincentivizes OPOs from seeking any and all available organs. 

The rule will create new measures designed to hold OPOs accountable for seeking – and ensuring transplant of – as many organs as possible, and the calculation of the measures will be based on objective data, according to HHS.

“Saving lives must be the number one priority for organ procurement organizations, which are responsible for getting donated organs to patients in need. Unfortunately, we have seen that this is not always the case,” said Sen. Young. “HHS’ new rule, which is modeled after my legislation, will finally ensure that these organizations are held accountable and subject to metrics that are clear and verifiable.”

The rule aligns with the bipartisan Organ Procurement Optimization Act of 2019, S. 2063, which Sen. Young sponsored in July 2019 with U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) to require that HHS publish in the Federal Register a final rule to establish a standardized performance metric or metrics that are objective, verifiable and not subject to interpretation by OPOs, according to the text of the bill.

There are 58 OPOs in the United States and questions have been raised regarding the effectiveness, transparency and accountability of these organizations, which receive $3 billion annually from the federal government, according to Sen. Young’s Nov. 20 statement.