Florida Hospital To Provide Liver Transplants and Follow-Up Care to Medicaid Beneficiaries and Uninsured

Under an agreement between Miami-based Jackson Memorial Hospital and Fort Lauderdale-based Broward General Medical Center, uninsured people and Medicaid beneficiaries in Broward and Palm Beach counties will now be able to receive liver transplants and follow-up care at Broward General, the Miami Herald reports. For the past several years, Jackson Memorial denied transplants to such residents of the two counties because of the cost. Expenses for liver transplants can be around $125,000, and Medicaid only covers about 10% to 15% of the cost, the Herald reports. Voters in Miami-Dade County approved a half-cent sales tax to cover that difference, but Broward and Palm Beach counties have no such provision, according to the Herald (Fantz/Prichard, Miami Herald, 6/10). Of the 150 to 200 liver transplants performed at Jackson Memorial each year, around 30% of recipients are from Broward County and 10% are from Palm Beach County, the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel reports.

The Agreement
Florida has received federal approval to use Medicaid funds for 57% of transplant costs at Jackson Memorial for Medicaid beneficiaries in Broward and Palm Beach counties, which is "enough to cover Jackson's needs," according to the Sun-Sentinel (LaMendola, Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, 6/10). Funds from the state's Medically Needy program will help cover the cost of uninsured Broward and Palm Beach residents, the Herald reports (Miami Herald, 6/10). Officials from North Broward Hospital District, Broward General's parent group, said it would provide matching funds necessary for Broward and Palm Beach county patients but added that they did not expect that such funds would be needed (Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, 6/10). Surgeons from Jackson Memorial's transplant team will do operations, see patients and train a staff of specialized liver doctors and nurses to run day-to-day operations at Broward General. The first transplant at Broward General is scheduled for December, Broward General CEO Joseph Scott said. Scott added that the hospital plans to perform 12 operations on "the most critically ill" Broward and Palm Beach County residents within the next year and 60 liver transplants by 2005, according to the Herald (Miami Herald, 6/10).