Today, the Department of Health and Human Services, through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), is finalizing a rule that is designed to increase the supply of lifesaving organs available for transplant in the United States by requiring that the organizations responsible for organ procurement be transparent in their performance, highlighting the best and worst performers, and requiring them to compete on their ability to successfully facilitate transplants.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar issued the following statement:

“There are few more transformative interventions for someone’s health than an organ transplant, but thousands of Americans are deprived of this lifesaving opportunity every year by a broken system. By making overdue reforms to hold organ procurement organizations accountable, we’re giving thousands of Americans waiting for organ transplants a chance at better, longer, and healthier lives.”

To read Secretary Azar’s remarks on Trump Administration actions in September to support living donations and promote transplants, please visit: https://www.hhs.gov/about/leadership/secretary/speeches/2020-speeches/remarks-press-steps-advance-american-kidney-health.html

For more on the progress on President Trump’s Advancing American Kidney Health initiative, please visit: https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2020/08/17/hhs-reports-progress-on-president-trumps-advancing-american-kidney-health-initiative.html

For the full press release on the final organ procurement rule, please visit: https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/cms-finalizes-policy-will-increase-number-available-lifesavings-organs-holding-organ-procurement

For a fact sheet on the final rule, please visit: https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/organ-procurement-organization-opo-conditions-coverage-final-rule-revisions-outcome-measures-opos

To view the final rule, please visit: https://www.cms.gov/files/document/112020-opo-final-rule-cms-3380-f.pdf