DENVER, Oct. 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- DaVita Kidney Care, a division of DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA), a leading provider of kidney care services in the United States, today announced results of the first performance year in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Comprehensive ESRD Care (CEC) Model as an ESRD Seamless Care Organization (ESCO).

CMS recognizes that end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients benefit greatly from integrated care. The CEC model enables dialysis providers like DaVita to partner with nephrologists to improve clinical outcomes through holistic care coordination. Overall, ESCOs achieved savings of $75 million during the first performance year of the pilot program, suggesting that the renal community is uniquely poised to deliver success on a large scale, which would positively benefit patients, the health care system and participating providers.

"DaVita is committed to partnering with CMS on the long-term vision of providing the gift of integrated care to all ESRD patients," said Javier Rodriguez, president and CEO of DaVita Kidney Care. "We're proud to be part of a disease-specific pilot that has shown great results for patients, is a win for the health care system and demonstrates that the renal community is ready to provide integrated care to all patients."

DaVita and its partners currently participate in three ESCOs located in Arizona, Florida and New Jersey/Pennsylvania. DaVita's ESCO model of care leverages the 12-15 hours per week when patients are in a dialysis clinic to address their kidney and non-kidney health care needs. DaVita's in-person, direct patient engagement model of care is designed to yield the best quality and clinical outcomes over the long term. 

"DaVita's integrated care team regularly communicates with nephrologists to better address gaps in care that extend beyond dialysis," added Dr. Roy Marcus, medical director and participating ESCO nephrologist. "This frequent communication means I have the time and details I need to provide better, more holistic care to my patients."

All of DaVita's ESCOs achieved the triple aim of improving clinical outcomes, enhancing patient experience and reducing costs. In the first performance year, DaVita's ESCOs provided integrated care and improved clinical outcomes for more than 5,000 patients*. This resulted in total average savings of $4,868 per patient. In the fourth quarter of 2016, when compared to the same timeframe in 2015, hospital readmissions were reduced by 13 percent, based on DaVita's internal data analysis. This resulted in patients being able to spend over 2,700 more days at home due to avoided hospitalizations, including Long-Term Acute Care Hospitals (LTACH) and Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF).

"DaVita and our nephrologist partners are investing resources in an in-person model of care because it leverages the time patients already have with their trusted care team at the dialysis center. This approach enables timely and effective management of patients' kidney disease, primary care and other comorbid conditions," stated Dr. Bryan Becker, MD, MMM, FACP, CPE, chief medical officer of DaVita VillageHealth. "DaVita is prepared to expand its integrated care model to dialysis patients across the country so they can experience the benefits."

The ESCO pilot is an important step in the evolution to full risk models, but requires important modifications to enable scalability over an extended period of time. DaVita and its partners will continue to work with Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI), CMS and Congress to create a model that could provide integrated care to all ESRD Medicare patients.

*Patients refers to number of beneficiary years. See CEC Model Performance Year 1 Results.

About DaVita VillageHealth
As the country's largest NCQA-accredited renal provider, VillageHealth® is the integrated care division of DaVita Kidney Care. VillageHealth's 600 teammates serve more than 20,000 end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and late-stage chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients each month. By partnering with health plans, the government, health systems and nephrologists, VillageHealth measurably improves clinical outcomes, enhances patient experience, and reduces total cost of care for renal populations participating in its integrated care programs. VillageHealth's partnership models include traditional fee-for-service, shared savings, and fully-delegated risk arrangements. VillageHealth has been fully capitated in the industry's longest-running Medicare Advantage ESRD Chronic Condition Special Needs Plan (C-SNP) since 2011 and now operates twelve ESRD C-SNPs, three ESRD Seamless Care Organizations (ESCOs), as well as more than a dozen programs with commercial payors and health systems. For more information, please visit VillageHealth.com.

About DaVita Kidney Care
DaVita Kidney Care is a division of DaVita Inc., a Fortune 500® company, that through its operating divisions provides a variety of health care services to patient populations throughout the United States and abroad. A leading provider of dialysis services in the United States, DaVita Kidney Care treats patients with chronic kidney failure and end stage renal disease. DaVita Kidney Care strives to improve patients' quality of life by innovating clinical care, and by offering integrated treatment plans, personalized care teams, and convenient health-management services. As of June 30, 2017, DaVita Kidney Care operated or provided administrative services at 2,445 outpatient dialysis centers located in the United States serving approximately 194,600 patients. The company also operated 217 outpatient dialysis centers located in 11 countries outside the United States. DaVita Kidney Care supports numerous programs dedicated to creating positive, sustainable change in communities around the world. The company's leadership development initiatives and social responsibility efforts have been recognized by Fortune, Modern Healthcare, Newsweek, and WorldBlu. For more information, please visit DaVita.com.

Forward Looking Statements
This release contains or may contain statements that are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. We intend these forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for such statements. All statements that do not concern historical facts are forward-looking statements and include, among other things, statements about our expectations, beliefs, intentions and/or strategies for the future. These forward-looking statements include statements regarding anticipated benefits of integrated care to patient, tax payers and participating providers, scalability of ESCOs, improvement in clinical outcomes, enhancement in patient experience, reduction in costs, and ability to yield the best quality and clinical outcomes over the long term. These statements can sometimes be identified by the use of forward looking words such as "may," "believe," "will," "should," "could," "would," "expect," "project," "estimate," "anticipate," "plan," "continue," "seek," "forecast," or "intend" or other similar words or expressions of the negative thereof. These statements involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to the risk factors set forth in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. These forward-looking statements should be considered in light of these risks and uncertainties. All forward-looking statements in this release are based on information available to us on the date of this release. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any of these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of changed circumstances, new information, future events or otherwise.

Disclaimer
The statements contained in this document are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of CMS. The authors assume responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the information contained in this document

Media contact:
Kate Stabrawa
(303) 876-7527
Kate.Stabrawa@davita.com

SOURCE DaVita Kidney Care