AST Public Policy

WASHINGTON
REPRESENTATIVE:
Bill Applegate
Director of
Government Relations
Armstrong Teasdale LLP
1747 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Suite 300
Washington, DC 20006-4604
P: 202- 454-2864
F: 202- 393-0363
wapplegate@armstrongteasdale.com

American Society
of Transplantation
15000 Commerce Pkwy.
Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054
P: 856-439-9986
F: 856-439-9982
ast@ahint.com

PUBLIC POLICY LIBRARY

Sample Letter to Congress on Medicare Conditions of Participation for Hospitals re: Reporting of Deaths to Organ Procurement Organizations

Date posted on the Web: July 08, 1998

July ____, 1998

The Honorable _____________
U.S. House of Representatives/U.S. Senate Washington, D.C.
20515/20510

Dear Representative/Senator ____________:

As a member of the American Society of Transplant Physicians (ASTP) and your constituent, I strongly support efforts to increase organ donation in the United States. As we all know, increased donation is the real answer to dealing with the dilemma of allocating and distributing an inadequate supply of organs. In an effort to increase hope and save lives, I and the ASTP urge you to support the Health Care Financing Administration's (HCFA) recent final rule, issued on June 22, 1998, requiring new conditions of participation (COP) for the 5,200 short-stay hospitals participating in the Medicare program. Under the new rule, these hospitals would be required to report all deaths to their local organ procurement organization (OPO).

The ASTP is the largest professional transplant organization in the United States and represents over 1,200 physicians, surgeons, and scientists. The ASTP is dedicated to the development and delivery of patient care, basic and clinical research, and patient, professional, and public education in the fields of organ donation and transplantation.

The new Medicare rule would dramatically increase the availability of organs and tissues for transplantation. By requiring a single telephone call from a hospital to an OPO, this new Medicare rule will significantly improve organ donation and provide a greater opportunity to the more than 56,000 patients currently awaiting a solid organ transplant in the United States. Despite the positive impact that this rule would have in expanding and delivering the "gift-of-life" - there are current efforts in Congress to delay and prevent this important initiative from moving forward. During the recent markup of the FY 1999 Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations bill, an amendment was attached which seeks to delay the implementation of this new policy. The ASTP believes that such an effort is potentially a dangerous "step-backward" for both patients and the transplant professional community.

From the standpoint of "regulatory burden," these new regulations would have minimal impact. Many hospitals already participate in voluntary, routine referral programs with their local OPO and/or tissue bank. {Give an example from your hospital, city/town, and/or State}

To increase the supply of organs and thus reduce the number of patients on waiting lists for transplants, I and the ASTP urge you to reject any amendments to FY 1999 appropriations bills and/or freestanding legislation which seeks to delay the new Medicare conditions of participation rule. In addition, we ask that you support the current rule as an important step forward to save the thousands of Americans desperately in need of the "gift-of-life."

We respectfully thank you for your consideration of our request. If you or your staff have any questions or require additional information, please do not hesitate to contact myself or Bill Applegate in the ASTP Washington office at (202) 429-5114.

Sincerely,

Your name
Title

CC: Bill Applegate, ASTP Washington Representative