Financial Assistance for Heart Transplant Patients: Costs, Coverage, and Where to Get Help

What a heart transplant costs

The most widely cited cost figures come from the actuarial firm Milliman, which publishes a report on U.S. organ and tissue transplant costs every few years. Its 2025 report, released in February 2025, is the latest edition we found. It estimates average billed charges for a single heart transplant at $1,918,700, the second highest of any single organ after a double-lung transplant.

Billed charges are the hospital’s list prices, not what insurers actually pay. Medicare and private plans negotiate much lower rates, and your share depends on your plan’s deductible, coinsurance, and out-of-pocket limit. Still, the breakdown shows where the money goes and which costs can follow you home.

Source: Milliman, 2025 U.S. organ and tissue transplants report, Figure 3. The same report puts the average hospital stay for a heart transplant at about 40.6 days and counts 3,990 heart transplants in the U.S. in 2023.

The table stops six months after discharge. Anti-rejection medicines are needed for life, and many patients spend weeks or months living near the transplant center before and after surgery. Those non-medical costs, like rent in two places, gas, parking, meals, and a caregiver’s lost wages, are often what strain a family the most.

Financial assistance for heart transplant patients at a glance

No single program pays for everything. Most families combine several sources. This table matches common needs with the help that usually fits.

Start with the transplant financial coordinator

Every transplant program has staff whose job is to sort out payment, usually called a financial coordinator or financial counselor, along with a transplant social worker. Talk to both at your first evaluation visit, before you are listed. They see dozens of cases a year and know which local charities, hospital funds, and lodging deals actually work.

Ask them these questions:

• Has my insurance approved the evaluation and the transplant, and is this center in my plan’s network or approved by Medicare?
• What will my out-of-pocket costs be for the evaluation, surgery, and first year?
• How will my anti-rejection drugs be covered after discharge, and what will they cost me each month?
• Does the hospital have a financial assistance policy, and should I apply now?
• Where do patients from out of town stay, and are there discounted rates?
• Which fundraising groups do your patients use?

Transplant programs often want to see a plan for paying for medicines and post-surgery care before they list a patient. Starting these conversations early keeps money problems from delaying your place on the waiting list.

Medicare coverage for heart transplants

According to Medicare.gov, Part A covers hospital services for heart transplants and Part B covers the doctors’ services. The key condition is location: you must get the transplant in a Medicare-approved facility. Ask the transplant center directly whether its heart program is Medicare-approved before you begin the evaluation.

What you still pay under Original Medicare:

• Part A hospital deductible for each benefit period.
• 20 percent of the Medicare-approved amount for Part B services, after the Part B deductible, which is $283 in 2026.
• The Part B premium, which is $202.90 a month for most people in 2026, according to the CMS 2026 premium fact sheet.
• Travel: Medicare.gov says Medicare does not pay for transportation to a transplant facility.

Because 20 percent of a transplant-sized bill can be large, a Medigap policy, a Medicare Advantage plan’s yearly out-of-pocket limit, or Medicaid as secondary coverage makes a big difference. If your income is limited, ask about Medicare Savings Programs, which can pay the Part B premium and sometimes deductibles and coinsurance. Our guide to Medicare benefits explains the parts in plain terms.

People under 65 usually reach Medicare through Social Security disability, after receiving disability benefits for 24 months. That timing matters for heart patients, since many become disabled well before the transplant.

Paying for anti-rejection medicines

Immunosuppressive drugs keep the body from rejecting the new heart, and they are taken for life. According to Medicare’s outpatient prescription drug page, if Medicare helped pay for your organ transplant, Part B covers transplant drug therapy. You must have had Part A at the time of the covered transplant and must have Part B when you get the drugs. You normally pay 20 percent coinsurance after the Part B deductible.

If Medicare did not pay for the transplant, for example because a job-based plan paid and you joined Medicare later, your anti-rejection drugs are usually covered under a Part D drug plan instead. Check each plan’s drug list during open enrollment.

Other ways to lower drug costs:

• Extra Help lowers Part D costs for people with limited income and resources. You can apply through Social Security.
• Manufacturer patient assistance programs give brand-name drugs free or at low cost to people who qualify by income. Your transplant pharmacist can tell you which makers run programs for your medicines.
• NeedyMeds, a nonprofit, keeps a free database of assistance programs, copay help, and discount options searchable by drug name.
• Transplant pharmacies at large centers often have staff who enroll patients in these programs before discharge.

Medicaid and private health plans

Medicaid programs generally cover medically necessary organ transplants, but each state sets its own rules, approved centers, and prior approval steps. Medicaid can also work as secondary coverage for people on Medicare, picking up deductibles and coinsurance. If your income has dropped because you can no longer work, check whether you now qualify. Our Medicaid guide covers eligibility and how to apply, which is free.

Some states also have “medically needy” or spend-down programs. These let people with income above the normal limit qualify once their medical bills reach a set amount, which large transplant bills often do quickly. Ask your state Medicaid office or the hospital’s financial counselor whether your state offers this.

Employer and Marketplace plans usually cover heart transplants, but almost always require prior approval and use a network of “centers of excellence.” A center outside that network may cost far more or not be covered at all. Before you change jobs or plans, ask the transplant coordinator how the change would affect your coverage. If you lose a job-based plan, COBRA continuation coverage or a Marketplace special enrollment period may keep you insured, but compare premiums carefully.

Can you get disability benefits before and after a heart transplant?

Often, yes. Social Security’s medical listings include listing 4.09, heart transplantation. Under it, Social Security considers a person disabled for one year from the date of the transplant, then reviews how well they are doing. Social Security also notes that most heart transplant patients already meet its definition of disability before surgery, so benefits may start earlier.

Some heart cases move faster through Social Security’s Compassionate Allowances program, which flags the most serious conditions for quick decisions. Its operating manual includes Adult Heart Transplant Wait List, Status Levels 1–4, a separate child wait-list entry, and heart transplant graft failure. Having a heart transplant by itself is not a Compassionate Allowance condition, but being on the wait list can be.

There are two disability programs:

• SSDI pays people who worked long enough under Social Security. After 24 months of SSDI, you get Medicare.
• SSI pays people with very low income and savings, up to $994 a month for one person in 2026, and in most states comes with Medicaid.

You can start a claim through Social Security’s disability page. Applying is free. The transplant social worker can help gather medical records, which speeds the decision.

Nonprofit fundraising for transplant costs

Many families raise money from friends, churches, and coworkers. Raising it through a medical fundraising nonprofit, rather than a general crowdfunding site, has two advantages: gifts can be tax-deductible for donors, and the nonprofit controls the funds, which can help protect eligibility for Medicaid or SSI. Always confirm with your benefits office before accepting large gifts.

Help Hope Live

Help Hope Live has helped families raise money for transplants and catastrophic illness since 1983. Its FAQ says fundraising is free for clients, though donations carry fees (3 percent on checks and 5.65 percent total on online gifts, which donors can choose to cover). It prefers to pay vendors directly, such as a pharmacy or landlord, and can reimburse eligible expenses you already paid.

Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA)

COTA has helped transplant families since 1986. It works with children and young adults who need a transplant, and with people of any age who have certain single-gene disorders. COTA says there is no cost to families. Money raised in a patient’s honor goes toward transplant-related expenses such as lodging, travel, household bills, medicines, and living donor costs, and remains available for the patient’s lifetime.

Disease and community groups

Ask the social worker about groups tied to your heart condition, your employer’s hardship fund, and local service clubs. Some hospitals run their own patient assistance funds for transplant families. Be cautious with any group that asks you to pay an upfront fee to raise money for you.

Places to stay near the transplant center

Heart patients often must live within a short drive of the transplant center while waiting for an organ and for weeks after surgery, so housing can become one of the biggest costs. Options to ask about:

• Hospitality houses. The Healthcare Hospitality Network is the national association of houses that host patients and caregivers traveling for treatment. It says most member houses charge little or nothing, regardless of income. Some are built just for transplant families.
• Ronald McDonald Houses for families of children being treated at nearby hospitals.
• Hospital-arranged lodging. Many transplant centers have discounted rates with nearby hotels or apartments, or their own guest housing.
• Fundraising money. Help Hope Live and COTA both list lodging as an eligible expense.

Waiting lists for free rooms can be long, so ask about housing at your evaluation visit, not after you are listed.

Free and low-cost travel to appointments

Transplant patients make many trips: evaluation, frequent follow-up visits, and biopsies in the first year. Since Medicare does not pay for travel to the transplant center, these charities can help:

• Mercy Medical Angels provides free travel for patients who cannot afford it, including volunteer pilot flights in the Mid-Atlantic, commercial airline tickets, ground transportation, and gas cards nationwide.
• Air Charity Network connects patients with volunteer pilots through regional members such as Angel Flight Northeast and Angel Flight Central. Flights are free for people in financial need or unable to use public transportation. Passengers usually must be well enough to fly in a small plane.
• Medicaid transportation. If you have Medicaid, ask about non-emergency medical transportation to covered appointments.

For local rides to frequent clinic visits or cardiac rehab, see our guide to transportation services for disabled adults.

Hospital financial aid and tax deductions

Nonprofit hospitals must have a written financial assistance policy under federal tax law, as the IRS explains. The policy lists who qualifies for free or discounted care and how to apply. Ask for it in writing, apply even if you have insurance, and ask that bills be held while your application is reviewed.

Transplant costs you pay yourself may also lower your taxes. According to IRS Publication 502, you can deduct medical expenses above 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income if you itemize. That can include lodging away from home for medical care, up to $50 per night per person, and driving for medical care at the standard medical mileage rate (21 cents a mile for 2025). A tax preparer can help you decide whether itemizing makes sense.

Building a funding plan, step by step

1. Confirm coverage. Ask your plan, or Medicare, to confirm the center is approved and the evaluation is authorized.
2. Meet the financial coordinator and social worker at the first visit and get a written estimate of your costs.
3. Apply for disability benefits as soon as you stop working, and check Medicaid eligibility at the same time.
4. Plan for medicines: find out whether Part B, Part D, Medicaid, or a manufacturer program will pay after discharge.
5. Book lodging early and line up travel help for the many follow-up trips.
6. Open a nonprofit fundraising campaign before costs pile up, and name a friend to run it.
7. Keep every receipt for gas, lodging, and medical bills for tax time and for fundraising reimbursement.

If bills have already gone to collections, our guide to help with medical bills after insurance covers negotiating and payment plans.

Related guides

• Financial assistance for kidney transplant patients
• Who qualifies for financial assistance for medical bills
• Social Security disability housing assistance
• Private grants for individuals with disabilities

Frequently asked questions

This guide is general information, not medical, legal, or tax advice. Coverage rules vary by plan and state, so confirm details with your transplant center and insurer. National Relief Program is an independent website and is not affiliated with Medicare, Social Security, any transplant center, or any charity named here.