OptumHealth’s End-Stage Renal Disease program is designed to deliver value not only in preparing members for the many challenges kidney disease will bring them, but by targeting the largest cost drivers of dialysis and inpatient days.
By 2020, approximately 785,000 people will have End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD)1, which means they have progressed to the final stage of kidney failure and need dialysis or a kidney transplant to keep them alive.
The increasing prevalence of such risk factors as adult-onset diabetes and hypertension is causing more people to experience kidney failure each year. Once kidney disease progresses to End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), the human impact is severe. At the same time, the financial impact can overwhelm patients and health plans, as it includes dialysis, transplantation, pharmacy and laboratory costs, frequent inpatient care and often total disability.
- Kidney Resource Services (KRS) can reduce dialysis costs by 35 to 50 percent through negotiated contracts with the top dialysis centers in the nation.2
- Through co-morbidity management, KRS can reduce the number of days a patient spends in the hospital by 10 to 30 percent.2
The program combines clinical consulting by nurse advocates who specialize in renal disease and access to top-performing dialysis centers through the OptumHealth KRS network of preferred centers. Receiving services through this program means patients’ dialysis treatment is based on a “best practices” approach from health care professionals with demonstrated expertise.
1 “ESRD Incidence and Prevalence,” Brendan Kennelly. 2007. U.S. Renal Data System, www.usrds.com.
2 OptumHealth data