Does Medicare Cover Organ Transplants? (2026)

If you or someone you love needs a new kidney, heart, or liver, the first question is usually about money: does Medicare cover organ transplants? Yes, it does. Medicare pays for medically necessary organ transplants, as long as the surgery happens at a Medicare-approved facility. What's worth knowing up front is how the bill splits between Part A and Part B, because that split decides a lot about what you'll actually owe.

In This Guide

• Key Takeaways
• What Does Medicare Cover for an Organ Transplant?
• What Part A Pays For
• What Part B Pays For, and What It Costs
• Does Medicare Cover an Organ Transplant at Any Facility?
• If You Have Medicare Only Because of Kidney Failure
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Learn More

What Does Medicare Cover for an Organ Transplant?

Start with the good news, because it's the part people worry about most: Medicare covers medically necessary organ transplants. Medicare's coverage page lists heart, lung, kidney, pancreas, intestine, and liver transplants among the ones it pays for.1 So if a doctor has told you a transplant is the right treatment, the surgery itself is not something you have to fund on your own.

The confusing bit isn't whether Medicare covers a transplant. It's that one transplant gets paid for by two different parts of Medicare, and they cover different things. Here's how the split works.

Knowing which part covers what matters because Part A and Part B have separate deductibles and separate cost-sharing. The rest of this guide walks through each side.

What Part A Pays For

Part A is the hospital side of Medicare, and it does the heavy lifting for a transplant. Part A covers your inpatient hospital care for the transplant, the tests and labs that go with it, and the cost of finding a suitable organ.1

Part A also covers something a lot of families don't expect: the care and costs for the organ donor. For a kidney transplant, that's spelled out plainly. Part A covers the full cost of a living donor's care before, during, and after the surgery, and the donor pays nothing for the services Medicare covers for the donation.1 So a relative or friend who steps forward to donate a kidney isn't stuck with the medical bills for donating. The 20% coinsurance below is on your care, not theirs.

What Part B Pays For, and What It Costs

Part B is the medical-services side. For a transplant, Part B covers the doctors' services connected to the surgery, and in certain situations Part B covers the immunosuppressive (anti-rejection) drugs that keep your body from rejecting the new organ.1

Now the cost part, since this is where you actually owe money. For Part B services, you pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount after you've met the annual Part B deductible, which is $283 in 2026.1,2 That 20% coinsurance has no yearly cap under Original Medicare, which is one reason many people carry a Medigap policy or choose a Medicare Advantage plan with an out-of-pocket limit.4

That 20% also isn't your whole exposure, and one gap catches transplant families hard: Medicare does not pay for transportation to a transplant facility. If your approved center is in another city, the travel and lodging are yours to fund. Beyond that, what you actually owe depends on any other insurance you have, how much your doctor charges, whether your doctor accepts assignment, the type of facility, and where you get the service. One protection is specific to kidney transplants: there's a limit on what your doctor can charge you even if the doctor doesn't accept assignment.1

These are Original Medicare figures. In a Medicare Advantage plan what you pay may be different, and Medicare tells anyone on a transplant waiting list, or who thinks they may need a transplant, to check before joining such a plan that their doctors, other providers, and hospitals are in the plan's network, and to check the plan's prior authorization rules.1

Does Medicare Cover an Organ Transplant at Any Facility?

No, and this is the requirement that catches people off guard, so it's worth stating plainly: you must get the transplant at a Medicare-approved facility for Medicare to cover it.1 Medicare says so directly on its organ transplant page, and for kidney transplants the rule is written into federal regulation, which pays for the surgery only when it's done at an approved transplant center.

What this means for you in practice: before you schedule anything, confirm that the transplant center is Medicare-approved. Most major transplant hospitals are, but it's not automatic, and it's the kind of detail you want nailed down early rather than after the fact. Your transplant team and your Medicare plan can both confirm it.

If You Have Medicare Only Because of Kidney Failure

Not everyone on Medicare is 65 or older. Some people have it because of permanent kidney failure (end-stage renal disease), and for them a kidney transplant raises a question it doesn't raise for everyone else: what happens to their Medicare afterward?

Here is the answer, and it is the most important paragraph on this page for you: if ESRD is the only reason you have Medicare, your Medicare ends 36 months after a successful kidney transplant. The transplant works, and then the coverage that paid for it runs out.3

Do not let that land as "so I'll be buying my anti-rejection drugs on my own." There is a benefit built for exactly this cliff. The Part B Immunosuppressive Drug benefit (Part B-ID), in effect since January 2023, lets kidney transplant recipients in your situation keep Part B coverage of their immunosuppressive drugs after the rest of their Medicare ends. Two conditions apply: you had Medicare because of ESRD at the time of your kidney transplant, and you don't have or expect to get certain other coverage, such as a group or individual health plan, TRICARE, or Medicaid that covers immunosuppressive drugs.3

There is no enrollment deadline. You can sign up for this benefit at any time. It doesn't run through ordinary Part B sign-up either. Social Security handles it on a dedicated line, 1-877-465-0355, which Medicare calls a special phone number just for this benefit, or you can mail form CMS-10798 to the Social Security Administration, Office of Central Operations, PO Box 32914, Baltimore, Maryland 21298. One duty comes with it: if you enroll and later get other health coverage, you must tell Social Security within 60 days.3

It carries its own costs, separate from standard Part B. In 2026 the premium is $121.60 a month (higher if your income is high) and the deductible is $283, after which you pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount for the drugs.3 Don't stop reading at that price. If your income and resources are limited, a Medicare Savings Program, meaning QMB, SLMB, or QI, may help pay for this benefit, and you apply for those through your state.3

Be clear about what Part B-ID is and isn't. It covers immunosuppressive drugs and no other items or services, so it is not a substitute for full health coverage, and you'll want a plan for the rest of your care as the 36 months run down.3 Our guide to how Medicare covers end-stage renal disease walks through the wider picture. Read it before your transplant, not after.

Learn More

Find personalized help understanding what a parent's organ transplant will cost under Medicare at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.