,i #aaeth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #fddh ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,july #ai1 #bjah,mr4 ,cartwright 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,lewis of ,minnesota1 ,mr4 ,cohen1 ,mr4 ,grijalva1 ,ms4 ,jenkins of ,kansas1 ,ms4 ,eddie ,bernice ,johnson of ,texas1 ,mr4 ,khanna1 ,mr4 ,marino1 ,mr4 ,polis1 ,mr4 ,young of ,alaska1 ,mr4 ,bishop of ,georgia1 ,mr4 ,fitzpatrick1 ,mr4 ,posey1 ,mr4 ,kelly of ,pennsylvania1 ,mr4 ,mc,govern1 and ,mr4 ,carson of ,indiana7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,national ,organ ,transplant ,act to clarify the definition of valuable consideration1 to clarify that pilot programs that honor and reward organ donation do not violate that ,act1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,organ ,donation ,clarification ,act of #bjah4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,as of ,june #bjah1 #aae1jjj people await an organ transplant1 with #ie1jjj of those people waiting for a kidney1 and average wait times are approaching five years for a kidney1 with twice as many people being added to waiting lists as getting a transplant4 7#b7 ,living donor kidney transplants peaked in #bjjd and have declined since due to a scarcity of living donors4 7#c7 ,of the roughly two million ,americans who die annually1 only #aj1ejj to #ac1hjj1 representing less than one percent of all deaths each year1 possess major organs healthy enough for transplanting4 7#d7 ,on average1 #bj people a day died while waiting for an organ in #bjag1 with the majority of those people waiting for a kidney4 7#e7 ,in #bjag1 #d1gjj people were permanently removed from kidney waiting lists and #a1hjj from liver1 heart1 and lungs waiting lists because they became permanently too sick to receive a transplant4 7#f7 ,ninety percent of dialysis patients are not employed because dialysis requires multiple treatments per week which last several hours and leave patients drained1 thus creating a huge financial burden on the patients1 their families1 and the government which is not included in the cost estimates above1 and which can help lead to as few as ten percent of dialysis patients being employed4 7#g7 ,a patient receiving a kidney transplant on average can go #aj-ae years living without dialysis while enjoying a much higher quality of life4 7#h7 ,as medical advances extend people's lives on dialysis1 the number of patients on dialysis will increase significantly1 as will the costs for individuals and the ,federal ,government4 7#i7 ,roughly seven percent of the ,medicare budget goes to the ,end ,stage ,renal ,disease ,program1 with dialysis costing ,medicare over #hg1jjj per patient per year1 as ,federal law dictates that ,medicare will cover dialysis for everyone who has made minimal ,social ,security tax payments4 7#aj7 ,a kidney transplant pays for itself in less than two years1 with each transplant saving an average of over #gjj1jjj in medical costs over a #aj-year period1 #he percent of which is savings to the taxpayers4 7#aa7 ,experts project that if the supply of transplant kidneys could be increased to meet the demand1 taxpayers would save more than #ab1jjj1jjj1jjj per year in medical costs4 7#ab7 ,the ,world ,health ,organization estimates that #aj percent of all transplants take place on the international black market1 the last choice for desperate patients facing an alternative of death1 however recipients often face infected kidneys and have poor health outcomes and donors are often victimized4 7#ac7 ,present policy on domestic donation1 which is not evidence based and has never been subject to studies or pilots to determine effectiveness in increasing the availability of donated organs and the effectiveness of safeguards that prevent coercion or exploitation1 precludes all but altruistic donation1 prohibiting any form of incentive or benefit for donors4 7#ad7 ,experts are arriving at a consensus that trials are necessary to find new methods of promoting additional organ donation which will save lives and reduce organ trafficking4 #c4 ,clarification of certain provisions of the ,national ,organ ,transplant ,act 7a7 ,relation to other laws ,section #cja of the ,national ,organ ,transplant ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bgd;e7 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7d7 ,relation to other laws 7#a7 ,governments encouraging organ donation ,this section shall not-- 7,a7 apply to actions taken by the ,government of the ,united ,states or any ,state1 territory1 tribe1 or local government of the ,united ,states to carry out a covered pilot program2 or 7,b7 prohibit acceptance of any noncash benefits provided by the pilot program under subparagraph 7,a74 7#b7 ,no prohibition on other benefits programs ,nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit actions1 other than actions described in this section1 taken by any ,state1 territory1 tribe1 or unit of local government in the ,united ,states to provide benefits for human organ donation4 7#c7 ,covered pilot program ,for purposes of this subsection1 the term covered pilot program means a pilot program approved by the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services1 subject to an ethical review board process1 with a term of not more than #e fiscal years1 for the purpose of measuring the effect of removing disincentives or providing a noncash benefit that may increase the organ pool4 ,distributions of organs from deceased donors under the pilot program shall be conducted only through the ,organ ,procurement and ,transplantation ,network at a transplant center approved by the ,united ,network for ,organ ,sharing or any other entity designated by the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services4 4 7b7 ,valuable consideration ,section #cja7;c77#b7 of the ,national ,organ ,transplant ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bgd;e7c77#b77 is amended to read as follows3 7#b7 ,the term valuable consideration does not include the following3 7,a7 ,reasonable payments associated with the removal1 transportation1 implantation1 processing1 preservation1 quality control1 and storage of a human organ4 7,b7 ,reimbursement for travel1 lodging1 food during travel1 and other logistical expenses related to donation4 7,c7 ,provision of advanced payments or reimbursement for dependent care needs for pre-transplant appointments in addition to during the period of donation and post-transplant follow up care related to the donation for up to a #aj-year period4 7,d7 ,reimbursement for lost wages related to donation4 7,e7 ,medical expenses related to donation and all related follow-up care including preventative follow-up care and medication for up to a #aj-year period4 7,f7 ,paperwork or legal costs related to donation4 7,g7 ,any term life insurance policy against the risk of death or disability as a result of donating an organ or the longer term health effects of having donated an organ1 that-- 7i7 in the case of a life insurance policy1 provides for payments in amounts greater than #b1jjj1jjj1 adjusted annually for inflation2 and 7ii7 in the case of a disability insurance policy1 provides for payments beyond the reasonable earnings expectations of the donor4 4