Post by Logan on Jun 12, 2016 21:30:27 GMT -6
UnitedHealthcare says it will start reimbursing kidney donors for their travel expenses in hopes of boosting donation rates that otherwise have been falling off.
Kidneys donated from living donors provide recipients with better odds than organs from a deceased donor, doctors say, but living donors often face financial barriers that prevent them from giving.
The program from Minnetonka-based UnitedHealthcare starts next year, and will cover up to $5,000 in travel and lodging costs for donors who are giving a kidney to a recipient with UnitedHealthcare insurance.
The program could pay for itself because a kidney transplant can help avoid the expense of dialysis treatments and hospital visits that can cost up to $250,000 in a year, said Dr. Jon Friedman, a chief medical officer with the Optum division of parent company UnitedHealth Group. A kidney transplant and a year of follow-up care, meanwhile, cost about $150,000 or less, he said.
Read more: www.startribune.com/unitedhealthcare-will-cover-travel-costs-for-kidney-donors/382558591/
Kidneys donated from living donors provide recipients with better odds than organs from a deceased donor, doctors say, but living donors often face financial barriers that prevent them from giving.
The program from Minnetonka-based UnitedHealthcare starts next year, and will cover up to $5,000 in travel and lodging costs for donors who are giving a kidney to a recipient with UnitedHealthcare insurance.
The program could pay for itself because a kidney transplant can help avoid the expense of dialysis treatments and hospital visits that can cost up to $250,000 in a year, said Dr. Jon Friedman, a chief medical officer with the Optum division of parent company UnitedHealth Group. A kidney transplant and a year of follow-up care, meanwhile, cost about $150,000 or less, he said.
Read more: www.startribune.com/unitedhealthcare-will-cover-travel-costs-for-kidney-donors/382558591/