WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Kidney Care, a CVS Health company, and Satellite Healthcare announced a strategic relationship to advance the care of patients with kidney disease. CVS Kidney Care and Satellite Healthcare will collaborate to provide comprehensive kidney care, and to expand awareness of and access to transplantation and in-home dialysis – initially in two locations, Los Angelesand Austin, Texas.

“We have known for many years that more frequent, longer dialysis improves patient outcomes. Realistically this can only be done in the home. Our relationship with Satellite Healthcare will help us make this option a reality for more patients,” said Dr. Alan Lotvin, executive vice president CVS Health and President of CVS Caremark. “We anticipate expanding this strategic relationship over time, as people with chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal failure need earlier intervention and better options than they have today.”

Satellite Healthcare is among the nation’s leading not-for-profit providers of kidney dialysis and related services. It was the first health organization to launch comprehensive support for the entire spectrum of home self-care dialysis treatments. Together, the two companies will focus on increasing transplantation and the use of home therapies and will engage patients, payors, and physicians in these efforts. Ascend Clinical, the leading provider of clinical laboratory testing services to the dialysis community, was chosen to provide laboratory testing for CVS Kidney Care as part of this relationship.

“Satellite Healthcare has a long, rich history of delivering high-quality care for kidney patients. Through this strategic relationship with CVS Kidney Care, we will be able to educate patients earlier to delay disease progression, increase understanding of treatment options and offer our services to more patients. This is a win-win for the kidney community,” said Rick Barnett, President & CEO, Satellite Healthcare.

CVS Health launched CVS Kidney Care to address the needs of patients at all points in their journey with a chronic kidney disease (CKD) management program, home dialysis services that the company is announcing today, and eventually – pending successful completion of a clinical trial and the receipt of regulatory approval – a new home hemodialysis device.

“Two years ago, we launched a strategic plan to transform kidney care,” said Kari Holloway, General Manager, CVS Kidney Care. “Partnering with an organization known for delivering the highest standard of quality care represents the next phase in that plan. Combined with our care management services and future hemodialysis technology advancements, we are helping to guide the health care system from an overreliance on in-center dialysis to treatment delivered in the convenience of a patient’s home.”

In addition to the 37 million Americans who have kidney disease, nearly 700,000 have end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Of those with ESRD, more than 500,000 are on active dialysis and more than 120,000 new ESRD cases are diagnosed each year. Financially, this disease represents a significant burden. Medicare spending for all beneficiaries who had CKD exceeded $84 billion in 2017. When adding an additional $36 billion for ESRD costs, total Medicare spending on both CKD and ESRD was over $120 billion, representing 33.8% of total Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) spending. Despite this high level of spending, outcomes for dialysis patients are poor, with one in six dialysis patients dying in the first year after starting treatment.