End-Stage Renal Disease: Characteristics of Kidney Transplant Recipients, Frequency of Transplant Failures, and Cost to Medicare

摘要

For individuals with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), the permanent loss of kidney function, Medicare covers kidney transplants and 36 months of follow-up care. Kidney transplant recipients must take costly medications to avoid transplant failure. Unless a transplant recipient is eligible for Medicare other than on the basis of ESRD, Medicare coverage, including that for medications, ends 36 months posttransplant. Pediatric transplant recipients, including those who were under 18 when transplanted but are now adults (transitional recipients), may be more likely than their adult counterparts to lose access to medications once Medicare coverage ends because they may lack access to other health insurance coverage. GAO was asked to examine (1) the percentage of transplant failures and subsequent outcomes--retransplant, dialysis, or death--among pediatric, transitional, and adult kidney transplant recipients and (2) how the cost to Medicare for a beneficiary with a functioning transplant compares with the cost for a beneficiary with a transplant failure. To do this, GAO analyzed 1997 through 2004 data from the United States Renal Data System (USRDS) and interviewed officials from pediatric transplant centers.