ICYMI: Health Equity in Transplantation Coalition Senior Advisor Rev. Al Sharpton Sits Down with CMS Administrator Brooks-LaSure at NAN Convention to Discuss Organ Transplantation Equity
Civil Rights Leader Raises Controversial Decision by Private Contractor to Restrict Medicare Coverage to Life-Saving Blood Test by Tying to Biopsy
HEiTC Chairman Al B. Sure! Gives Impassioned Call to Action for Thousands of Transplant Recipients Left Without Crucial Test Access
New York, NY (April 16, 2024) — The Health Equity in Transplantation Coalition (HEiTC) took a key role in the National Action Network (NAN) Annual Convention in New York City last week, during which they engaged with a key governmental figure on the misguided Medicare cuts to a life-saving blood test able to catch an organ rejection up to months in advance.
Since last year, HEiTC has fought Medicare cuts to those tests made by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), at the guidance of a private contractor. The controversial March 2023 decision to tie these tests to the need for a biopsy defeated their intent. That’s because the painful, time-consuming procedure is only ordered when it’s often too late to stop a rejection.
Rev. Al Sharpton, the Founder and President of NAN who also serves as a Senior Advisor to HEiTC, raised these issues with CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure during a fireside chat on Thursday, April 11th. He acknowledged HEiTC Executive Chairman Al B. Sure! was in the audience and asked Brooks-LaSure to meet with them to discuss this matter further, which she agreed to do.
For video of this conversation, click here.
Al B! gave a well-received call to action the following day at the outset of a panel on the future of Black Health. The conversation featured nationally recognized leaders in public health, including Debra Fraser-Howze, Founder of Choose Healthy Life; Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford of Harvard Medical School; and Dr. Ashwin Vasan, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The HEiTC Executive Chair’s remarks focused on his personal journey to recovery thanks to the gift of life, his decision to use his platform to advance equity for transplant recipients, and his fight to restore these Medicare cuts.
For video of his remarks, click here.
HEiTC’s presence at the NAN Convention – a regular stop for members of the Biden-Harris Administration, civil rights leaders, and others who use their platform to advance justice – comes as the fight to restore these cuts enters a new front. Today, Honor the Gift announced more than two dozen physicians in the transplant space penned a letter to CMS about the negative impact of this March 2023 decision.
These doctors specifically noted a 50% decrease in tests ordered since the decision was made. Now, there is real concern recipients and their care providers do not know if transplanted organs are failing.
To read the press release on the letter, click here.
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