Dear Congressman / Senator_________:

RE: Your Co-sponsorship of H.R. 2969 / S. 1454, Comprehensive Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage for Kidney Transplant Patients Act of 2011

As a transplant professional (physician, surgeon, nurse, coordinator, patient, donor, etc) at__________medical institution and a member of the American Society of Transplantation (AST) in our home state of_________, I am writing to request your co-sponsorship and strong support for the "Comprehensive Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage for Kidney Transplant Patients Act of 2011." This bipartisan and bicameral legislation will ensure that kidney recipients from our state are able to maintain their life-saving donor organ in the most cost effective manner possible to the federal government.

Under current law, Medicare cuts off immunosuppressive drugs after 36 months of coverage. As you may know, these drugs are necessary for patients to maintain their donor kidney. Failure to take these drugs results in patients losing their kidney and returning to full Medicare coverage of dialysis which is significantly more expensive than simply providing the immunosuppressive drugs. Although Medicare coverage for immunosuppressive drugs is currently cut off after 36 months, the Medicare coverage for dialysis is indefinite. This disjoined coverage increases the chance that transplant recipients will lose their kidney and return to dialysis at tremendous cost to the federal government.

The Comprehensive Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage for Kidney Transplant Patients Act of 2011 saves lives and is a cost effective use of tax payer dollars. In 2008, Medicare spent $19,104 on a beneficiary with a functioning kidney transplant (after the year of transplant), compared to $77, 506 annually on a beneficiary who was on dialysis. The legislation is supported by the entire Transplant community, including the American Society of Transplantation (AST), National Kidney Foundation (NKF), American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS), American Society of Nephrology (ASN), United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), etc.

On behalf of our transplant program and the critical patient population that we serve in__________, I urge and request you to co-sponsor the "Comprehensive Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage for Kidney Transplant Patients Act of 2011." This common sense legislation saves lives, tax payer dollars and is the right thing to do for all involved. If you have any questions or require further information, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at_______________.

To learn more about this important patient legislation and to cosponsor the bill, please contact:

James.Palushkiewicz@mail.house.gov (Office of Congressman Michael Burgess, R-TX)
Travis.Robey@mail.house.gov (Office of Congressman Ron Kind, D-WI)

Sara_Singleton@durbin.senate.gov (Office of Senator Dick Durbin, D-IL)
Elyse_Marcellino@cochran.senate.gov (Office of Senator Thad Cochran, R-MS)

Sincerely,