Springfield Standard

Senator Eric Schmitt, along with Senators Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Mike Lee (R-UT), and John Kennedy (R-LA), sent a letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra. The letter addresses concerns about the Biden Administration’s proposed Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies in the healthcare system.

"People’s healthcare is the latest place for Biden and Democrats to inject divisive DEI policies. Vital medical procedures like a kidney transplant should not be rated on a scale of one to woke, and doctors and surgeons should not have to consider the equity of a situation before operating on a patient. DEI has no place in the operating room," said Senator Eric Schmitt.

The Increasing Organ Transplant Access (IOTA) model, proposed by the Department of Health and Human Services on May 8, 2024, is cited as an example of these policies. Released through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, this model proposes that hospitals receive payments based on an annual score determined by three factors: number of transplants, organ acceptance rates, and post-transplant outcomes. A successful kidney transplant counts as one point; however, if the transplant is given to a "low-income" patient, it counts as 1.2 points.

This "health equity adjustment" is viewed by critics as creating an incentive to prioritize transplants based on income levels rather than clinical necessity. The letter argues that organ allocation should adhere to the principle of equal treatment for all patients without prioritizing individuals based on non-medical criteria.

The full letter can be accessed in its entirety through attached documentation.