What Patients Should Know About Medicare’s New Immunosuppressive Drug Benefit
It had always seemed illogical that Medicare coverage for under-65 ESRD patients ends 36 months after a successful kidney transplant. Why would Medicare make a huge investment in a transplant and then stop paying to safeguard the organ from rejection? For this reason, decades ago kidney care advocates sought a new Medicare benefit extending coverage for immunosuppressive drugs. This bill finally became law in December 2020, and is now being implemented by Medicare. While kidney care advocates applauded this development, it’s important to understand that the context for the bill has changed in light of passage of the Affordable Care [...]