So much for “following the science.” 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 — the same groups the Biden administration claims to be helping with its “equity” agenda. It’s but the latest signal of how the left will use rationing tactics to deny patients costly care.
The documents, uncovered 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 lung transplant recipients. Last year, one contractor reduced coverage of the tests, stating that patients could only receive them in lieu of a more invasive biopsy.
But the blood screening tests were designed as an early warning signal well before a biopsy was needed — 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.
Doctors understand the value of this treatment, even if the Medicare contractor deliberately ignored their advice. As The Wall Street Journal reported, five of six transplant physicians surveyed by the Medicare contractor agreed that the evidence supports surveillance use for kidney patients, and all
