{"id":2229845,"date":"2024-04-25T08:26:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-25T12:26:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/medicare-bureaucrat-denies-test-to-transplant-recipients-despite-doctors-advice\/"},"modified":"2024-04-25T08:32:16","modified_gmt":"2024-04-25T12:32:16","slug":"medicare-bureaucrat-denies-test-to-transplant-recipients-despite-doctors-advice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/medicare-bureaucrat-denies-test-to-transplant-recipients-despite-doctors-advice\/","title":{"rendered":"Medicare Denies Transplant Test Against Doctors&#8217; Advice"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmedicare-bureaucrat-denies-test-to-transplant-recipients-despite-doctors-advice%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2229845&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The\u2062 article \u200cdiscusses how Medicare\u2064 bureaucrats ignored expert advice on a blood \u2064diagnostic test for \u200b<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-administration-officials-signal-covid-19-booster-shots-needed-for-some-americans\/\" title=\"Biden Administration Officials Signal COVID-19 Booster Shots Needed for Some Americans\">transplant patients<\/a>, leading to inadequate coverage and potentially harmful consequences. The decision to limit the\u2062 test&#8217;s availability contradicts doctors&#8217; recommendations and may compromise the early detection of \u200corgan rejection, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-health-care-workers-to-get-25-an-hour-minimum-wage\/\" title=\"California health care workers will receive a minimum wage of  per hour.\">impacting patient care<\/a> and outcomes. The article highlights the \u2064importance of evidence-based healthcare decision-making.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<figure>                         <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>So much for \u201cfollowing the science.\u201d Newly released documents indicate that bureaucrats affiliated with the Medicare program ignored advice they solicited from medical experts in their efforts to deny patients care. Worse yet, the individuals with disabilities who were harmed often came from minority households \u2014 the same groups the Biden administration claims to be helping with its \u201cequity\u201d agenda. It\u2019s but the latest signal of how the left will use rationing tactics to deny patients costly care.<\/p>\n<p>The documents, <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/healthcare\/4606446-medicare-ignored-expert-advice-to-cut-tests-for-transplant-patients\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">uncovered<\/a> via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, surround decisions by Medicare contractors regarding coverage of a blood diagnostic test designed to detect signs of organ rejection in kidney, heart, liver, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/transplanted-lungs-potentially-spread-deadly-legionella-infection-to-organ-recipients-cdc-study\/\" title=\"CDC Study: Transplanted Lungs May Transmit Deadly Legionella Infection\">lung transplant recipients<\/a>. Last year, one contractor reduced coverage of the tests, stating that patients could only receive them in lieu of a more invasive biopsy.<\/p>\n<p>But the blood screening tests were designed as an early warning signal well before a biopsy was needed \u2014 they were meant to be used more regularly for better monitoring of rejection signs. By equating these less invasive tests to biopsies, patients would only receive the blood tests once signs of organ rejection and damage had become more obvious, making this innovative screening tool of little benefit to patients.<\/p>\n<p>Doctors understand the value of this treatment, even if the Medicare contractor deliberately ignored their advice. As The\u00a0Wall Street Journal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/medicares-bureaucracy-vs-doctors-5ea1a433?mod=opinion_feat1_editorials_pos3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>, five of six transplant physicians surveyed by the Medicare contractor agreed that the evidence supports surveillance use for kidney patients, and all six clinicians believed that the tests could help prevent the need for biopsies in otherwise-healthy transplant recipients not showing signs of rejection.<\/p>\n<p>In short, medical experts believe this new screening treatment could keep <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/a-surprising-risk-factor-of-coronary-heart-disease\/\" title=\"A Surprising Risk Factor of Coronary Heart Disease\">organ transplant recipients<\/a> in better health, and avoid subjecting them to unnecessary and invasive procedures such as biopsies to monitor their condition. It makes perfect sense \u2014 except to government bean-counters like those focused on Medicare\u2019s purse strings.<\/p>\n<p>Not only did the Medicare contractor make a decision that contradicted the opinions of its medical experts, but he also fought against disclosing those experts\u2019 opinions to the public via a FOIA request. <\/p>\n<h2>Caring for the Elderly and Disabled<\/h2>\n<p>As the mother of a child with cystic fibrosis, I worry my daughter may one day need a lung or kidney transplant to save her life. And as an advocate for those with disabilities, and former member of the National Council on Disability, I worry about what decisions like those surrounding this screening test \u2014 which seemed obvious to Medicare\u2019s self-selected experts \u2014 say about our country\u2019s priorities.<\/p>\n<p>I remember the Obamacare debates back in 2009, when President Barack Obama <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/SB124597492337757443\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">responded<\/a> to a woman asking about the care for her elderly but healthy mother by saying, \u201cMaybe you\u2019re better off not having the surgery, but taking the painkiller.\u201d I fear that this mentality, of casting off the old, vulnerable, and \u201cless valuable,\u201d is growing in our society \u2014 and directly led to this contractor\u2019s medically indefensible decision.<\/p>\n<p>The Medicare program faces financial shortfalls, and yes, it needs reform. But there are far better ways to modernize Medicare than to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doctors-ethicists-blast-colleagues-who-threaten-to-withhold-treatment-from-unvaxxed\/\" title=\"Doctors, Ethicists Blast Colleagues Who Threaten To Withhold Treatment From Unvaxxed\">deny care<\/a> to vulnerable patients solely on cost grounds, and then try to hide the evidence from the public\u2019s gaze. Transplant recipients deserve better \u2014 and so do all of us.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Mary Vought is the vice president of communications at the Heritage Foundation and a senior fellow at Independent Women\u2019s Forum.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Despite seeking advice from medical experts, Medicare bureaucrats ignored it and denied patients care, including individuals from minority households. This contradicts the administration&#8217;s pledge to follow science and support marginalized communities, highlighting a concerning disregard for expert recommendations<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":564,"featured_media":2229846,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/7272346858_68c7381be7_k-e1714010053317.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2229845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/7272346858_68c7381be7_k-e1714010053317.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2229845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/564"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2229845"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2229845\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2229846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2229845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2229845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2229845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}