Sponsors (13)
The bill increases equity and financial support for living donors and strengthens grant flexibility and transparency, but does so at the cost of higher public program spending, potential budget trade-offs for other transplant services, and new administrative and oversight risks.
Living organ donors (including low-income and uninsured donors) face reduced financial barriers because reimbursements are tied to donor needs and recipients' income cannot be used to deny reimbursement, likely increasing donation access and equity.
Hospitals, nonprofits, and other grant applicants gain access to federal funds because HHS may award grants to entities no longer categorically excluded, potentially expanding program reach and services.
Grant applicants, administrators, and HHS benefit from clearer statutory language and corrected cross-references, reducing legal ambiguity and improving program administration consistency.
State governments, grant programs, and taxpayers may face higher program costs because recipients' income can no longer be used as an eligibility screen, increasing the number of reimbursements and overall spending pressure.
Hospitals, transplant programs, and state budgets could see funding for other transplant-related services constrained if reimbursements increase without additional funding, forcing difficult budget trade-offs.
Removing a prior categorical exclusion could allow entities or recipients once barred by policy to receive federal funds, risking misuse, undermining prior policy judgments, and creating oversight or compliance burdens.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Bars grant recipients from considering organ recipients' income when reimbursing living donors, removes one categorical exclusion to awards, and adds an annual HHS report on reimbursement adequacy.
Introduced January 22, 2025 by Jay Obernolte · Last progress January 22, 2025
Prohibits HHS grant recipients from taking the organ recipient’s income into account when reimbursing living donors for travel, lodging, and other nonmedical expenses, and requires an annual HHS report assessing whether grant funding was sufficient to fully reimburse donors. It also removes one listed circumstance that barred awards, adjusts related statutory cross‑references, and makes minor renumbering and punctuation changes to keep the statute internally consistent.