Illinois Transplant Fund Experience: Is It a Pathway to Increased Transplant Access for Hispanic Patients With Kidney Failure?
Rationale & Objective: The Illinois Transplant Fund, established in 2015, provides private health insurance premium support for noncitizen patients with kidney failure in Illinois and thus allows them to qualify for kidney transplants. Our objective was to describe trends in kidney transplan...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Kidney Medicine |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590059523001607 |
| _version_ | 1797399041489764352 |
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| author | Zeynep Isgor Tricia Johnson Kevin Cmunt Brittney S. Lange-Maia |
| author_facet | Zeynep Isgor Tricia Johnson Kevin Cmunt Brittney S. Lange-Maia |
| author_sort | Zeynep Isgor |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Rationale & Objective: The Illinois Transplant Fund, established in 2015, provides private health insurance premium support for noncitizen patients with kidney failure in Illinois and thus allows them to qualify for kidney transplants. Our objective was to describe trends in kidney transplant volumes over time to inform the development of a hypothesis regarding the impact of the Illinois Transplant Fund on kidney transplant volumes for adult Hispanic patients with kidney failure in Illinois, especially noncitizen patients. Study Design: Retrospective study. Setting & Population: We used data on the annual number of kidney transplants and kidney failure prevalence aggregated to the national and state levels from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network and United States Renal Data System, respectively. Outcomes: The annual number of transplants as a percentage of prevalent kidney failure cases among adults over time from 2010 to 2020 by race/ethnicity for all payer and private insurance-paid transplants and the annual number of transplants by citizenship status (for Hispanic patients only) were examined for the United States (US), Illinois, and 6 selected US states. Analytical Approach: Descriptive study. Results: From pre- to post-Illinois Transplant Fund, the average annual number of transplants as a percentage of the average annual prevalent kidney failure cases for Hispanic adults increased by 4% in Illinois while the same figure increased by 33% for privately insured transplants. Limitations: The observations reported in this paper cannot be interpreted as evidence for the program’s impact. Conclusions: Observed trends suggest plausibility of developing a hypothesis that Illinois Transplant Fund's introduction may have contributed to improvement in kidney transplantation access for Hispanic patients in Illinois, especially noncitizens, but cannot constitute evidence in support of or against this hypothesis. Future research should test whether the Illinois Transplant Fund improved access to kidney transplants for noncitizens with kidney failure. Plain-Language Summary: Health policies regarding kidney transplant access for undocumented residents vary widely by state. The Illinois Transplant Fund (ITF) provides financial support for health insurance premiums, so undocumented patients with kidney failure in Illinois can qualify for a kidney transplant. In this study, we reported kidney transplant trends in Illinois before and after the creation of the ITF along with kidney transplant trends in the US overall and selected states that share similarities to Illinois. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T01:34:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e8c638ead3824193afc9c785a1ad06ed |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2590-0595 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T01:34:42Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Kidney Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-e8c638ead3824193afc9c785a1ad06ed2023-12-09T06:07:36ZengElsevierKidney Medicine2590-05952024-01-0161100742Illinois Transplant Fund Experience: Is It a Pathway to Increased Transplant Access for Hispanic Patients With Kidney Failure?Zeynep Isgor0Tricia Johnson1Kevin Cmunt2Brittney S. Lange-Maia3Department of Health Systems Management, College of Health Sciences, Rush University, Chicago, IL, USA; Address for Correspondence: Zeynep Isgor, PhD, Department of Health Systems Management, College of Health Sciences, Rush University, Chicago, IL, USA.Department of Health Systems Management, College of Health Sciences, Rush University, Chicago, IL, USAGift of Hope Organ and Tissue Donor Network and Illinois Transplant Fund, Itasca, IL, USADepartment of Family & Preventive Medicine and Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Rush University, Chicago, IL, USARationale & Objective: The Illinois Transplant Fund, established in 2015, provides private health insurance premium support for noncitizen patients with kidney failure in Illinois and thus allows them to qualify for kidney transplants. Our objective was to describe trends in kidney transplant volumes over time to inform the development of a hypothesis regarding the impact of the Illinois Transplant Fund on kidney transplant volumes for adult Hispanic patients with kidney failure in Illinois, especially noncitizen patients. Study Design: Retrospective study. Setting & Population: We used data on the annual number of kidney transplants and kidney failure prevalence aggregated to the national and state levels from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network and United States Renal Data System, respectively. Outcomes: The annual number of transplants as a percentage of prevalent kidney failure cases among adults over time from 2010 to 2020 by race/ethnicity for all payer and private insurance-paid transplants and the annual number of transplants by citizenship status (for Hispanic patients only) were examined for the United States (US), Illinois, and 6 selected US states. Analytical Approach: Descriptive study. Results: From pre- to post-Illinois Transplant Fund, the average annual number of transplants as a percentage of the average annual prevalent kidney failure cases for Hispanic adults increased by 4% in Illinois while the same figure increased by 33% for privately insured transplants. Limitations: The observations reported in this paper cannot be interpreted as evidence for the program’s impact. Conclusions: Observed trends suggest plausibility of developing a hypothesis that Illinois Transplant Fund's introduction may have contributed to improvement in kidney transplantation access for Hispanic patients in Illinois, especially noncitizens, but cannot constitute evidence in support of or against this hypothesis. Future research should test whether the Illinois Transplant Fund improved access to kidney transplants for noncitizens with kidney failure. Plain-Language Summary: Health policies regarding kidney transplant access for undocumented residents vary widely by state. The Illinois Transplant Fund (ITF) provides financial support for health insurance premiums, so undocumented patients with kidney failure in Illinois can qualify for a kidney transplant. In this study, we reported kidney transplant trends in Illinois before and after the creation of the ITF along with kidney transplant trends in the US overall and selected states that share similarities to Illinois.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590059523001607End stage kidney diseasehealth policyHispanickidney diseasekidney failurenoncitizens |
| spellingShingle | Zeynep Isgor Tricia Johnson Kevin Cmunt Brittney S. Lange-Maia Illinois Transplant Fund Experience: Is It a Pathway to Increased Transplant Access for Hispanic Patients With Kidney Failure? Kidney Medicine End stage kidney disease health policy Hispanic kidney disease kidney failure noncitizens |
| title | Illinois Transplant Fund Experience: Is It a Pathway to Increased Transplant Access for Hispanic Patients With Kidney Failure? |
| title_full | Illinois Transplant Fund Experience: Is It a Pathway to Increased Transplant Access for Hispanic Patients With Kidney Failure? |
| title_fullStr | Illinois Transplant Fund Experience: Is It a Pathway to Increased Transplant Access for Hispanic Patients With Kidney Failure? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Illinois Transplant Fund Experience: Is It a Pathway to Increased Transplant Access for Hispanic Patients With Kidney Failure? |
| title_short | Illinois Transplant Fund Experience: Is It a Pathway to Increased Transplant Access for Hispanic Patients With Kidney Failure? |
| title_sort | illinois transplant fund experience is it a pathway to increased transplant access for hispanic patients with kidney failure |
| topic | End stage kidney disease health policy Hispanic kidney disease kidney failure noncitizens |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590059523001607 |
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