The Role of Patient Selection Criteria in Ensuring Equitable Access to Kidney Transplantation

A transplant program at a hospital with a Medicare provider agreement must meet Medicare Conditions of Participation (CoPs) in order to receive CMS approval for providing transplant services. CoPs for transplant programs include a requirement that programs use written patient selection criteria to determine a patient's suitability for placement on the waiting list for a transplant and that patient selection criteria ensure the fair and nondiscriminatory distribution of organs. However, CMS stops short of defining patient selection criteria, and inequities in access to organ transplants persist. This study will evaluate how kidney transplant programs' patient selection criteria and related processes may affect the fair and nondiscriminatory distribution of organs. In addition, this study will assess how CMS monitors programs' compliance with, and takes corrective action regarding, its requirement that each program's patient selection criteria ensure the fair and nondiscriminatory distribution of organs.

Announced or Revised	Agency	Title	Component	Report Number(s)	Expected Issue Date (FY)
July 2023	Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services	The Role of Patient Selection Criteria in Ensuring Equitable Access to Kidney Transplantation	Office of Evaluation and Inspections	OEI-01-23-00290	2025