The DaVita Difference: The Billing King

By Peter Laird, MD

Each month, Kaiser sends an explanation of benefits for my dialysis services. I see my dialysis team once a month, I do all of my inventory ordering, I perform all of my own medical treatments and I draw my own labs. My wife often wonders why she doesn't get paid to be my assistant since "we do all of the work." Her question is even more pointed when we saw the bill to Kaiser for August 2012 in the amount of $72,490.40.

In Australia and other nations, patients are given financial incentives to perform dialysis at home since it saves the health system tens of thousands of dollars every year. I am sure that is a non-starter politically here in America, but where can a dialysis provider supervising home hemodialysis patients only on a monthly basis have the audacity to generate such an outrageous bill? Indeed, my entire annual cost of dialysis and related medical costs is well below $72,000 each year.

At the same time, DaVita denies me enough supplies to last that one month period with one box of masks, 50 in each, which is less than needed for both my wife and I. One box of alcohol pads likewise fails to cover my monthly needs.  They further provide my dialysis needles on a one month basis compromising their integrity since they are not shipped in their original packaging of a box of 100. Did they use gloves and wash their hands before they placed them in a cardboard box not intended for this purpose and then shipped it to me through the mail system? Does this compromise my clean supply table every day as I attend my dialysis set up diligently in accordance to rules of sanitation?

Needless to say, Kaiser does not pay that bill in entirety due to contractual agreement. Yet for some health care providers, they do not have the ability to deny all of these claims which would total over $800,000.00 for a year of home hemodialysis treatment. With Kent Thiry publicly stating in a recent presentation that the business of DaVita is not about the patients, their greed and profiteering is evident each and every month when I obtain my explanation of benefits.

I understand that it is not about the patient each and every day that I fax my daily dialysis flow sheet so that the nurses at my unit can enter it into the DaVita billing system. Yes, DaVita is the king of dialysis billing. My impression of their entire system is that it is geared to billing much more so than to patient care. After all, Kent is right, it is not about the patient. That is the DaVita difference.

Comments

[Floridasue]

I also do my treatments at home and have monthly visit at Davita. I recently have found out that the assist I was getting from American Kidney foundation for my medigap insurance will not pay over 500 a month nor will they let me add the 150 to make the payment in full. I've been told the only choice is Hummana that only pays 15 per cent. With davitas high cost I have to find another 300 a month. This gets so numbing after awhile.

[Chris]

I'm guessing if davita starts out with an absurdly outrageous bill, their final utterly outrageous bill won't look so bad. I'm wondering what Kaiser is finally going to wind up paying? I'm guessing much more than davita's "help" is actually worth.

But maybe I'm not factoring in the wonderful show Thiry puts on for all of us down in Denver.

[Roberta Mikles BA RN]

And, it is all a terrible situation especially when you read their inspection reports
www.qualitysafepatientcare.com

[L Schmidt]

Great article and so true.. I experienced the same on supplies when I was with davita...counting out every needle... their attitude towards pateints and their ethics do not belong in the kidney world.. absolutely awful organization to be involved with. I am concerned about the pateints that r in their care...We r petioning for them to stop providing dialysis services to the patients in our area.. looking for another dialysis provider...

[Mark Moulliet]

Yes, as someone who went to Davita for five years, everything Dr. Laird has stated is very true, sadly.

[A. Stamp]

I also am with Davita and feel the same as the above. I have been on in center hemodialysis for 5 years and for some reason Davita decided that because I get a minimal SS check and very minimal disability check that I can afford to pay 250 dollars towards my dialysis every month. I can't. I am on medicare with UHC secondary until I am 65 at which time my disability stops due to AT and T's rules. So, I am billed 250 by Davita every month in addition to money I have to pay to medicare and UHC and the copay of 5000 dollars per year with UHC plus medications and my meager living expenses which leave me tossing a coin to see if I need gas, food or meds each month. To this day I have not gotten an answer as to why I have to pay this to Davita.

[Peter Laird, MD]

Sorry, to here this situation. I hope you are able to work it out. If you can find a non-profit dialysis unit in you area, usually you are in a better situation on many fronts. God bless, Peter.