Global Liver Institute and National Alliance for Caregiving Provide Recommendations to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation’s Increasing Organ Transplant Access (IOTA) Model
(Washington, DC – July 16, 2024) – Based on our shared knowledge and experience, Global Liver Institute and National Alliance for Caregiving are proud to collaborate in providing recommendations to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) that we believe will improve the proposed Increasing Organ Transplant Access (IOTA) Model by addressing the need for additional caregiver support.
This model tests whether performance-based incentives for participating kidney transplant hospitals can increase access to kidney transplants for patients with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), while preserving or enhancing quality of care and reducing Medicare expenditures. While we appreciate the nod to improving caregivers as key participants in the model, our recommendations address the broader—often systemic— gaps that contribute to caregiver strain and hardship so that caregivers are better supported, prepared and equipped to care for transplant patients, thereby playing a role in improving the measured performance of transplant systems in the IOTA Model.
Commitment to adequately supporting caregivers of transplant patients through the proposed IOTA model will undoubtedly have broad implications beyond transplantation for kidneys, including liver transplants, and we urge CMS to prioritize this critical population. View the letter.
About Global Liver Institute
Global Liver Institute (GLI) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in the belief that liver health must take its place on the global public health agenda commensurate with the prevalence and impact of liver illness. GLI promotes innovation, encourages collaboration, and supports the scaling of optimal approaches to help eradicate liver diseases. Operating globally, GLI is committed to solving the problems that matter to liver patients and equipping advocates to improve the lives of individuals and families impacted by liver disease. Follow GLI on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube, or visit www.globalliver.org.