Oregon Transplant Centers Putting Some Low-Income Patients on Hold

Oregon's largest transplant centers are putting some low-income patients waiting for transplants on hold -- or refusing to add them to the waiting list -- as a result of state cuts in a program that pays for immunosuppressive drugs.

Dr. Douglas Norman, director of transplant medicine at Oregon Health & Science University, said "available organs are not going to go to Oregon Health Plan patients" unless the Legislature restores their drug coverage.

Norman and other doctors expressed concern that changes in the Oregon Health Plan will leave patients unable to afford the approximately $1,000 per month it costs for anti-rejection medications.

"If they can't get their medication, they will reject their organ and they will die," said Dr. Susan Tolle, director of the Center for Ethics in Health Care at Oregon Health & Science University. "They went through everything, including the $150,000 transplant operation. Now, what society is saying to them is: You're not worth the $1,000 a month it takes to keep you alive."

John Niemitz, manager of transplant services at Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital , said transplant patients in the past were always able to use Medicaid or the Oregon Health Plan as a safety net.

Now, Niemitz said, some who jump into the safety net "will land on the concrete."

Other Sources: Oregonian