Cornyn, Kirk Introduce Veterans Transplant Coverage Act

Press Release

U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) introduced the Veterans Transplant Coverage Act, legislation to require the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide veterans coverage for live donor transplant operation procedures if the veteran qualifies for the VA Choice Program. A veteran in Texas made local news when his kidney transplant was denied coverage through the Veterans Choice Act.

"Our veterans who have sacrificed so much for our nation deserve the best possible health care we can give them, but unfortunately, the VA bureaucracy is not doing everything they can to help those who need life-saving transplant procedures," said Senator Cornyn. "I thank Senator Kirk for his leadership on this issue, and I hope we can pass this bill to help veterans in Texas and across the nation cut through the red tape and receive quality, life-changing care."

"The VA is not implementing the Veterans Choice Act as Congress intended," said Senator Kirk. "The program should be increasing access to care for our veterans but we still see failures at every turn despite continued promises from VA Secretary McDonald."

Charles Nelson, a disabled veteran in Texas, was told by the VA that a live donor kidney transplant from his son would be paid for if they went to one of two living donor transplant VA hospitals. The two options were Portland, Oregon, which had a 4 month wait to schedule surgery and Nashville, Tennessee, which had a year-long waitlist. Mr. Nelson was in immediate need of life-saving surgery. Mr. Nelson was forced to go through Medicare to pay for his surgery. Senators Cornyn and Kirk's legislation will ensure that cases like Mr. Nelson's in the future are covered through the VA Choice Program.

The bill authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide veterans coverage for live donor transplant operation procedures if the veteran qualifies for the VA Choice Program. The VA is required to fully fund all care and services before and after the transplant procedure. Currently, the VA only covers kidney transplant procedures for veterans from deceased donors in the state of Texas - therefore eliminating the possibility of finding a match from relatives.

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