Kidney groups call out US Supreme Court decision on DaVita, hospital employee health plan
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Several kidney organizations have spoken out against the recent overruling of Marietta Memorial Hospital Employee Benefit Health Plan v. DaVita by the U.S. Supreme Court.
In the lawsuit, DaVita claimed the hospital health plan discriminated against employees requiring dialysis.
As Healio previously reported, the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that Marietta Memorial Hospital offered the same outpatient dialysis coverage to all employees, reversing the initial decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit.
“The insurer practice at issue – shifting patients prematurely to Medicare – will exacerbate inequalities in access and quality care for an already vulnerable population. This ruling is a blow to promoting affordable patient choice and instead unfairly shifts costs to the American taxpayer,” John P. Butler, chair of Kidney Care Partners (KCP), said in a statement. “We feel this decision leaves patients with end-stage renal disease vulnerable to discriminatory and inequitable insurer practices, and in fact, is not consistent with the administration’s own goals on health equity.”
Additional organizations, such as the National Kidney Foundation and American Kidney Fund, have also expressed concern about the Supreme Court ruling.
In a statement released about the ruling, the NKF drew attention to the impact this decision may have on patients, noting it will now be easier for insurance plans to provide insufficient coverage for kidney failure.
“Some individuals with kidney failure will have to pay for both Medicare benefits (which cover their dialysis needs) and their employer-sponsored benefits (which may cover supplemental services, such as vision and dental),” Kevin Longino, CEO of the NKF, said in a statement. “Other patients may have to transition to Medicare completely and potentially lose supplemental benefits. Others still might choose to leave the workforce rather than have their wages subsidize benefits that are not fully valuable to them.”
Those hit hardest by this ruling will most likely be patients living in underserved communities with kidney failure. LaVarne A. Burton, president and CEO of the AKF, said, “AKF is concerned that this ruling will exacerbate the disproportionate impact that kidney failure has on these communities and jeopardize access to life-saving care.”
Butler concluded, “We stand ready and willing to work with Congress and other policymakers to address the gap created by today’s ruling and clarify the intent of the Medicare Secondary Payer Act to better protect patients from exclusionary measures like this. More must be done to ensure that no one is denied or discriminated against because of the treatment they need because of their disease.”
References:
American kidney fund's statement on dialysis-related Supreme Court ruling. https://www.kidneyfund.org/article/american-kidney-funds-statement-dialysis-related-supreme-court-ruling. Published June 30, 2022. Accessed June 30, 2022.
NKF deeply disturbed by court ruling on dialysis. https://www.kidney.org/news/nkf-deeply-disturbed-court-ruling-dialysis. Published June 29, 2022. Accessed June 30, 2022.
Nation’s kidney community deeply disappointed with Supreme Court ruling in Marietta Memorial Hospital Employee Benefit Health Plan v. DaVita. https://kidneycarepartners.org/press/nations-kidney-community-deeply-disappointed-with-supreme-court-ruling-in-marietta-memorial-hospital-employee-benefit-health-plan-v-davita/. Published June 21, 2022. Accessed June 30, 2022.
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