I wondered how long he was on the waiting list ever since the news broke. From my own naive lack of understanding, I wouldn't have guessed you could get a diagnosis, get on the waiting list, get a transplant, and be back to work in 6 months. It's hard to google up what the average wait time for a liver transplant, but it does sound that the worse you are, the higher you get moved on the list.

You may not get moved up the list by being rich, but it does help your increase your odds. With access to the best doctors to help make a good diagnosis quickly, knowledge of the transplant list criteria and the latest medical advances, and the ability to refer you to the best of the best surgeons and specialists, I'm sure he has a leg up over people like me with a crappy PPO insurance policy, let alone someone on Medicare.