Washington, D.C. – Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), a member of the House Rules Committee and Republican Leader of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, released the following statement after the House passed H.R. 5534, the Comprehensive Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage for Kidney Transplant Patients Act of 2019 part of the H.R. 2477, the BENES Act of 2020. 

“Today is a monumental day for American kidney transplant patients,” said Burgess. “A new kidney gives hope of a better quality of life to patients, and by requiring Medicare to cover the critically needed immunosuppressive drugs past 36 months for certain kidney transplant patients, we will help protect that kidney and prevent a return to dialysis.”

“This simple policy change is something I have championed for nearly a decade and one kidney patients and their loved ones have been advocating for nearly twenty years.  

“A kidney transplant is an investment that the government makes into the patient’s future, and this policy allows us to keep that investment. Not only is this good policy for the patient, it’s good for the taxpayer. Both the CMS Office of the Actuary and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation at HHS have published reports on the benefits of extending Medicare coverage of immunosuppressive drugs, which include financial savings for the Medicare program.

“The passage of this legislation today provides hope. I urge the Senate to quickly take this up and send it to the President’s desk.”