House launches investigation into hospitals allegedly letting foreign patients jump organ transplant lines
What's the endgame here?
House lawmakers are launching a congressional investigation into two major hospital systems amid allegations they allowed wealthy foreign patients to bypass U.S. organ transplant waiting lists, as more than 100,000 Americans remain on those lists and thousands die each year waiting for life-saving organs.
Reps. Jason Smith, R-Mo., and David Schweikert, R-Ariz., who lead the House Ways and Means Committee’s oversight effort, sent letters Tuesday to the University of Chicago Medical Center and Montefiore Medical Center in New York demanding records by Feb. 10 and warning they will issue subpoenas if the hospitals fail to comply.
The allegations, first reported by the New York Times, claim the tax-exempt hospitals transplanted organs procured from American donors into foreign nationals who traveled to the U.S. specifically to receive transplants, effectively jumping ahead of U.S. patients. Smith and Schweikert said the alleged conduct likely bypassed Americans on transplant waiting lists, potentially resulting in loss of life.
Smith said the allegations strike at the core of what tax-exempt hospitals are supposed to represent and could trigger a broader review of whether those benefits should continue.
BIDEN-ERA REGULATION ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK AS TRUMP-ALIGNED LEGAL GROUP WARNS OF 'DEI LENS'
"If U.S. hospitals who enjoy lucrative taxpayer-funded benefits have prioritized foreign nationals for organ transplants over saving American lives, they should have their tax-exempt status terminated," Smith said. "America First means prioritizing American lives, not your bottom line. The Ways and Means Committee will leave no stone unturned and is prepared to utilize every tool at our disposal, including subpoenas, in pursuit of the truth."
In the letter to University of Chicago Medical Center President Thomas Jackiewicz, lawmakers said they were particularly alarmed by the hospital’s transplant numbers. Foreign patients made up about 11% of the hospital’s heart and lung transplants, with 61 international patients receiving organs between 2020 and 2024 — more than at any other hospital in the U.S.
Lawmakers also cited cases in which foreign patients allegedly received organs within days, while American patients waited far longer.
ORGAN DONORS' LIVES ENDANGERED BY RUSHED TRANSPLANT PROCEDURES, INVESTIGATION FINDS
One case involved a wealthy Japanese woman who reportedly received a heart transplant just three days after being placed on the waiting list after an exception raised her priority. The patient was a self-pay international recipient, and a charity founded by …
What's the endgame here?
House lawmakers are launching a congressional investigation into two major hospital systems amid allegations they allowed wealthy foreign patients to bypass U.S. organ transplant waiting lists, as more than 100,000 Americans remain on those lists and thousands die each year waiting for life-saving organs.
Reps. Jason Smith, R-Mo., and David Schweikert, R-Ariz., who lead the House Ways and Means Committee’s oversight effort, sent letters Tuesday to the University of Chicago Medical Center and Montefiore Medical Center in New York demanding records by Feb. 10 and warning they will issue subpoenas if the hospitals fail to comply.
The allegations, first reported by the New York Times, claim the tax-exempt hospitals transplanted organs procured from American donors into foreign nationals who traveled to the U.S. specifically to receive transplants, effectively jumping ahead of U.S. patients. Smith and Schweikert said the alleged conduct likely bypassed Americans on transplant waiting lists, potentially resulting in loss of life.
Smith said the allegations strike at the core of what tax-exempt hospitals are supposed to represent and could trigger a broader review of whether those benefits should continue.
BIDEN-ERA REGULATION ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK AS TRUMP-ALIGNED LEGAL GROUP WARNS OF 'DEI LENS'
"If U.S. hospitals who enjoy lucrative taxpayer-funded benefits have prioritized foreign nationals for organ transplants over saving American lives, they should have their tax-exempt status terminated," Smith said. "America First means prioritizing American lives, not your bottom line. The Ways and Means Committee will leave no stone unturned and is prepared to utilize every tool at our disposal, including subpoenas, in pursuit of the truth."
In the letter to University of Chicago Medical Center President Thomas Jackiewicz, lawmakers said they were particularly alarmed by the hospital’s transplant numbers. Foreign patients made up about 11% of the hospital’s heart and lung transplants, with 61 international patients receiving organs between 2020 and 2024 — more than at any other hospital in the U.S.
Lawmakers also cited cases in which foreign patients allegedly received organs within days, while American patients waited far longer.
ORGAN DONORS' LIVES ENDANGERED BY RUSHED TRANSPLANT PROCEDURES, INVESTIGATION FINDS
One case involved a wealthy Japanese woman who reportedly received a heart transplant just three days after being placed on the waiting list after an exception raised her priority. The patient was a self-pay international recipient, and a charity founded by …
House launches investigation into hospitals allegedly letting foreign patients jump organ transplant lines
What's the endgame here?
House lawmakers are launching a congressional investigation into two major hospital systems amid allegations they allowed wealthy foreign patients to bypass U.S. organ transplant waiting lists, as more than 100,000 Americans remain on those lists and thousands die each year waiting for life-saving organs.
Reps. Jason Smith, R-Mo., and David Schweikert, R-Ariz., who lead the House Ways and Means Committee’s oversight effort, sent letters Tuesday to the University of Chicago Medical Center and Montefiore Medical Center in New York demanding records by Feb. 10 and warning they will issue subpoenas if the hospitals fail to comply.
The allegations, first reported by the New York Times, claim the tax-exempt hospitals transplanted organs procured from American donors into foreign nationals who traveled to the U.S. specifically to receive transplants, effectively jumping ahead of U.S. patients. Smith and Schweikert said the alleged conduct likely bypassed Americans on transplant waiting lists, potentially resulting in loss of life.
Smith said the allegations strike at the core of what tax-exempt hospitals are supposed to represent and could trigger a broader review of whether those benefits should continue.
BIDEN-ERA REGULATION ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK AS TRUMP-ALIGNED LEGAL GROUP WARNS OF 'DEI LENS'
"If U.S. hospitals who enjoy lucrative taxpayer-funded benefits have prioritized foreign nationals for organ transplants over saving American lives, they should have their tax-exempt status terminated," Smith said. "America First means prioritizing American lives, not your bottom line. The Ways and Means Committee will leave no stone unturned and is prepared to utilize every tool at our disposal, including subpoenas, in pursuit of the truth."
In the letter to University of Chicago Medical Center President Thomas Jackiewicz, lawmakers said they were particularly alarmed by the hospital’s transplant numbers. Foreign patients made up about 11% of the hospital’s heart and lung transplants, with 61 international patients receiving organs between 2020 and 2024 — more than at any other hospital in the U.S.
Lawmakers also cited cases in which foreign patients allegedly received organs within days, while American patients waited far longer.
ORGAN DONORS' LIVES ENDANGERED BY RUSHED TRANSPLANT PROCEDURES, INVESTIGATION FINDS
One case involved a wealthy Japanese woman who reportedly received a heart transplant just three days after being placed on the waiting list after an exception raised her priority. The patient was a self-pay international recipient, and a charity founded by …
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