Cutting off transplant meds: a GovernmentCare success story

(By Ed Morrissey, Hot Air) - Decades ago, Congress mandated that Medicare cover the treatment of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), including dialysis and transplants, for most patients in the US. Currently, the system covers 250,000 people receiving very expensive dialysis treatments, which costs just under $10,000 per patient per month, which is why so many people want to increase the transplant pool, as it would both save lives and greatly decrease costs. However, the system has a limit on support for the transplant medications needed to keep transplanted kidneys viable, which makes no sense whatsoever — and Congress has refused to address the problem.