House launches investigation into hospitals allegedly letting foreign patients jump organ transplant lines

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.

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“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.

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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 her husband later donated money to a nonprofit linked to the transplant surgeon’s family, raising concerns about a possible quid pro quo.

“The case raised alarms among transplant experts and has drawn scrutiny because it suggests that wealth, connections, and post-transplant charitable giving may have intersected with access to a scarce organ,” the letter said.

Lawmakers also questioned whether the hospital violated its obligations as a tax-exempt institution by allegedly entering into contracts with foreign governments for transplant services.

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“Contracting with a foreign government to provide these crucial services to foreign nationals over American citizens raises serious questions as to the nature of the community benefit that you are providing in order to maintain your tax-exempt status,” the letter continued.

A separate letter sent to Montefiore Medical Center President and CEO Philip O. Ozuah detailed similar concerns. Lawmakers cited reporting that 20% of lung transplant recipients at Montefiore were overseas patients, generating tens of millions of dollars in revenue for the hospital.

The letter alleges Montefiore advertised transplant services abroad by highlighting short wait times and concierge care, while whistleblowers claimed international patients were given preferential treatment, including altering or omitting medical records to speed up access to organs.

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The lawmakers said a former transplant financial coordinator told The New York Times that American patients were pushed aside, saying, “[W]e had patients who we’d been working with, who had been waiting their turn, and then someone from Kuwait would come and jump the line.”

Smith and Schweikert noted that more than 100,000 Americans are currently waiting for an organ transplant and that approximately 5,600 die each year while on the waiting list.

“Montefiore’s decision to provide foreign nationals with this critical service — and preferential treatment over American citizens — in return for massive payments far exceeding the market rate is completely inappropriate,” the letter said.

The document demands come amid an ongoing congressional investigation into the U.S. organ transplant system.

Schweikert said the investigation has already produced results, including the Trumpadministration’s decision to decertify a Miami organ procurement organization. He said testimony at a December hearing revealed “shocking stories of organ donations gone terribly wrong” and highlighted the need for more transparency in the transplant system.