Pew Memorial Trust policy synthesis: 5. State coverage for organ transplantation: a framework for decision making.

Transplantation of hearts and livers for both adults and children is increasingly viewed as therapeutic and lifesaving, but access to these procedures is impeded by their high cost as well as by a limited supply of organs. In the absence of comprehensive federal coverage, pressure is being brought to bear on states to provide broader access to these procedures. This synthesis provides a framework for the consideration of coverage decisions at the state level. While there are no "right" answers about whether a state should support such coverage, the analytic tools of cost analysis, demand estimation, and assessment of capacity described in this synthesis can better inform the decision-making process.