Permanent OPTN Fee Authority Act
The Permanent OPTN Fee Authority Act would authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to collect registration fees from members of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) for each transplant candidate that a member places on the waiting list. The fees are intended solely to support the operation of OPTN and would be treated as discretionary offsetting collections, available only to the extent provided in advance by appropriations acts. The bill also requires transparency by posting fee amounts and the activities they support on the OPTN website and would mandate a Government Accountability Office (GAO) review within two years. In addition, the bill modernizes and expands OPTN reporting and operations. It adds a dashboard requirement to display key transplant statistics (such as total transplants, types of transplants, and organs entering and failing to be transplanted) and requires more frequent-than-annual updates. It also updates language to require 24-hour telephone or information technology support for OPTN operations.
Key Points
- 1Authorization of registration fees: The Secretary may collect fees from each OPTN member for every transplant candidate placed on the waiting list, with fees dedicated to supporting OPTN operations.
- 2Fee use and availability: Fees are discretionary offsetting collections, credited to applicable DHHS accounts, and available to the extent appropriated to distribute among OPTN awardees.
- 3Transparency requirements: The Secretary must promptly post on the OPTN website the amount collected from each member and the activities those fees support, with quarterly updates.
- 4GAO oversight: Within two years after enactment, the Comptroller General must review the activities under this subsection and report findings and recommendations to specified Senate and House committees.
- 5Dashboard and reporting: The bill requires creation of a dashboard displaying metrics (e.g., number of transplants, transplant types, and organs that entered and did not get transplanted) and mandates more frequent updates than once per year.