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Thank you for your outstanding support!

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 Hospital Inpatient Prospecitve Payment System (IPPS) Proposed Rule comment period has now closed. On behalf of the National Marrow Donor Program®/Be The Match® and the transplant community, we want to thank you for your dedication and support to patients over 65 in need of a transplant.

CMS received more than 800 comments from you, our advocates, asking them to reimburse the acquisition cost of cells for bone marrow and cord blood transplants the same way they reimburse the costs of solid organ. You have shown unwavering commitment to protect access for patients in need of a life-saving bone marrow or cord blood transplant. In addition to your comments, our partners -- transplant hospitals, physicians, and nurses -- also submitted comments to CMS, making our voice even louder! CMS will review comments and publish a final rule in August. 

In the coming days/weeks, CMS will release the proposed rule for outpatient payments. We will need your help once again as the agency considers how to reimburse the acquisition costs of bone marrow and cord blood cells in this health care setting. Stay tuned!

Read our comment to CMS
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Appropriations: What's happening on the Hill?

As previously discussed, the Congress appropriates dollars for the C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program (Program), which the National Marrow Donor Program operates through a contract with the federal government. It also appropriates dollars for the National Cord Blood Inventory (NCBI). These dollars help increase the number of marrow donors and cord blood units on the Be The Match Registry®. 

Earlier this month, the Senate released its report on 2017 appropriations. In the report, our funding levels remained steady with the committee providing $22,109,000 for the Program and $11,266,000 for the NCBI. We thank the Senate Appropriations Committee for considering our funding requests and continuing to support the programs we operate.

The House has yet to release its funding levels, and we will continue to monitor its activities. We anticipate the House will release its bill in July. The hope is that that House and Senate will pass a complete package before the end of the year.

Learn More

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Advocate Profile: Kate Boggan

At ten months old, Kate Boggan was diagnosed with Congenital Amegakaryocytic Thrombocytopenia (CAMT), a rare and fatal type of bone marrow failure.

When doctors told her parents, Lindsey and Alex, that Kate would need a bone marrow transplant, Lindsey said they tried to prepare themselves for the tough road ahead. "No one ever expects to hear the words 'the only thing that will save your child's life is a bone marrow transplant,"' Lindsey said. "Our lives were forever changed that morning."

While Kate was going through treatment, the Boggans learned that she would soon be a big sister and that her brother Will wouold also be born with CAMT.

Kate received her life-saving transplant in 2011 from an unrelated donor found on the Be The Match Registry®. In 2013, the family met her donor, and their families quickly formed a close bond. 

With both children being transplant recipients, Lindsey is a committed advocate for Be The Match®. On June 12, 2014, Kate and Lindsey shared theird courageous story with legislators --the same day as Will's one-year transplant anniversary. 

During their visit to D.C., Kate and Lindsey carried the important message of continued support for the C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program. 

Kate will spend this summer swimming with Will, enjoying cheerleading camps with her friends and preparing to be the flower girl at her donor's wedding this fall.


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