Cost
Learn about your insurance and funding options for home dialysis
Along with the stress of knowing you have kidney disease and need dialysis, you may also have concerns about the cost of treatment. We are here to help you navigate the uncertainties you are experiencing, regardless of your insurance coverage or lack thereof.
Your primary focus at this time needs to be on deciding which dialysis treatment, and which dialysis provider, is right for you. We will help you with one-on-one dialysis options education. We will also help you identify dialysis providers in your area, whether for home dialysis or in-center hemodialysis, if that is what you choose.
At HDT, we want to serve as a resource to you and others touched by kidney disease in and around San Diego County. We will contact your insurance provider to assess your coverage for home dialysis care via HDT. We accept most major health plans including Employer Group Health Plans, Covered California Plans, HMO’s PPO’s, POS’s, Medicare, Medi-cal, Medi-cal Managed Care, and Cal MediConnect. We will assess your plan benefits and inform you of any anticipated deductibles, co-insurance, or any out-of-pocket expenses that might be anticipated. In addition, a social worker is available to help look at your individual financial situation to educate you about and help you access other financial resources for which you may qualify.
Your primary focus at this time needs to be on deciding which dialysis treatment, and which dialysis provider, is right for you. We will help you with one-on-one dialysis options education. We will also help you identify dialysis providers in your area, whether for home dialysis or in-center hemodialysis, if that is what you choose.
At HDT, we want to serve as a resource to you and others touched by kidney disease in and around San Diego County. We will contact your insurance provider to assess your coverage for home dialysis care via HDT. We accept most major health plans including Employer Group Health Plans, Covered California Plans, HMO’s PPO’s, POS’s, Medicare, Medi-cal, Medi-cal Managed Care, and Cal MediConnect. We will assess your plan benefits and inform you of any anticipated deductibles, co-insurance, or any out-of-pocket expenses that might be anticipated. In addition, a social worker is available to help look at your individual financial situation to educate you about and help you access other financial resources for which you may qualify.
Funding Resources
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Medicare and ESRD Benefits
If you are eligible for Medicare and you select hemodialysis (in a center) as your method of dialysis, there will be a 90-day waiting period for Medicare coverage to begin. However, if you select home dialysis (either peritoneal dialysis or home hemodialysis) as your method of dialysis, the waiting period does not apply. So, your Medicare coverage would begin on the first day of the month for the month in which you started dialysis. For example, if your first home dialysis training day is the 15th of October, your coverage would be effective on the 1st of October. We will assess your individual circumstances to determine your options for Medicare coverage.
We also have Medicare coverage booklets printed and available to you in English and Spanish at our clinics.
We also have Medicare coverage booklets printed and available to you in English and Spanish at our clinics.
Medi-cal and Other Public Assistance Programs
We will also help screen whether it may be of benefit to you to apply for Medi-cal or other programs, such as CalFresh (aka SNAP), offered by the California Department of Health and Human Services. Navigating public assistance programs can be intimidating for some, as well as confusing. Our social worker will help clarify what options may be beneficial for you to explore now. Our efforts to monitor your individual circumstances throughout your course of treatment with HDT will also help determine what steps you may want to take if your situation changes.
Transplant Support
Dialysis is one treatment for kidney failure. Kidney transplant, kidney/pancreas transplant, and kidney/liver transplant are other treatments. Some patients come to HDT already listed for transplant with a living donor awaiting eligibility. Others have not considered transplant, hoping that the day of dialysis would not come. There are also patients who are not transplant candidates, or choose not to explore transplant, recognizing that dialysis will be a part of their life the rest of their lives. Wherever you are on this spectrum, we are here to support you with your individual care goals. All patients are entitled to a transplant evaluation. In San Diego County, there are 3 transplant facilities. If you desire a transplant, we will support you with starting or completing the evaluation process. If you are listed for a kidney transplant, we will help you maintain your health readiness while you wait. We have “Explore Transplant” packets, in English and Spanish, available at our clinic to help educate loved ones and friends about what you are going through, as well as to share with potential living donors. Don’t let concern about the cost of a transplant prevent you from exploring your candidacy. Your dialysis clinic and the transplant center that you choose will help you discover the resources that may be available to you.
SDG&E Medical Baseline Allowance
Home dialysis equipment is a life support device. This equipment in the home qualifies you for the SDG&E Medical Baseline Allowance program. It also alerts your utility company that you have a life support device at home. In the event of a planned power outage, completion of this application will assist SDG&E with contacting you so you can make alternate arrangements for your treatment. We will assist you with the completion of this application at the onset of services with HDT and educate you regarding disaster preparedness as a home dialysis patient.
Employment and Income
Financial concerns and chronic illness often go hand in hand. You may have concerns about maintaining employment while accommodating dialysis into your routine. You may have already missed partial or full days of work due to illness and medical appointments. We are here to support you with the adjustments that may be needed to maintain the activities important to you in your life and routine. There may be paperwork you can fill out at your place of employment that gives you additional job protection for having an illness chronic in nature that requires ongoing treatment. You also may be eligible for short-term disability while you undergo home dialysis training, or if a family member is your care partner he or she may be eligible for Paid Family Leave. If you lose your job or are unable to return to your prior line of work due to disability, you do have options that the social worker at HDT can explore with you. We are here to assess your individual circumstances to help make the onset of dialysis, or transition to home dialysis, manageable for you. We have the EDD State Disability and Paid Family Leave Forms available for you at our clinics.
“Explore Transplant” Education Program
The program, which is available in English and Spanish, is designed to educate individuals at all stages of readiness for pursuing a kidney transplant. All program components were developed and field-tested through a series of HRSA research and dissemination grants. Explore Transplant packets are available in English and Spanish at our clinics free of charge.
Next Step
Contact us to learn how we can help you be successful with home dialysis, as well as address the financial concerns that often accompany managing an illness that is chronic in nature.