OPTN Fee Collection Authority Act
The OPTN Fee Collection 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 such members place on the waiting list. The fees would be used solely to support the operation of the OPTN and could be collected directly by HHS or via awards to eligible recipients. The collected fees would be treated as discretionary offsetting collections and could be distributed to awardees as specified in appropriations acts. In addition, the bill requires transparency about the fees and their use (posted on the OPTN website with quarterly updates) and requires a GAO review within two years. Notably, the authority to collect fees would expire three years after enactment. The bill also amends OPTN-related law to encourage electronic health record (EHR) integration among hospitals, organ procurement organizations, and transplant centers (with HIPAA privacy protections) and to consider creating a dashboard displaying key transplant statistics that would be updated more frequently than annually.
Key Points
- 1Registration fees: The Secretary may collect registration fees from every OPTN member for each transplant candidate they place on the waiting list, with fees supporting OPTN operations. Fees may be collected directly or through awards to eligible entities and are available until expended.
- 2Transparency and reporting: The Secretary must promptly post on the OPTN website the amount of fees collected from each member and a list of activities funded by those fees, with quarterly updates.
- 3GAO review and sunset: The Comptroller General must conduct a review within two years and report findings and recommendations to relevant congressional committees. The authority to collect fees sunsets three years after enactment.
- 4Administrative mechanics: Fees are treated as discretionary offsetting collections (reducing net outlays) and may be credited to applicable DHHS accounts. Funds are distributed among awardees as allowed by appropriations.
- 5P and Q provisions (policy enhancements):
- 6- P: Encourage integration of electronic health records via APIs among hospitals, organ procurement organizations, and transplant centers, including remote access to donor EHRs, while complying with HIPAA privacy rules.
- 7- Q: Consider establishing a dashboard to display transplant statistics (e.g., number/types of transplants, organs entering and not transplanted) and keep this information up to date more frequently than annually.