List date(s) this work was published or aired.
July 9, 2011 and Nov. 18, 2011
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
Dialysis providers’ funneling of premium payments through the nonprofit American Kidney Fund raises concerns with officials at the Oregon health insurance program of last resort. Dialysis chains are the top two funders of the Fund and use its premium support to derive large profits at the expense of the state.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
We cross-referenced the Kidney Fund’s 990s with a powerpoint used to raise funds from dialysis providers to ascertain their top two donors. We used annual reports of the Northwest Renal Network to determine the 91.5 percent market share of the top two chains in Oregon, and reviewed federal filings to find other statistics on average Medicare costs and the number of renal patients in Oregon. We submitted requests to the Oregon Medical Insurance Program for documents and meeting recordings pertaining to the Kidney Fund issue.
Explain types of human sources used.
I spoke with insurance company executives, dialysis patients, executives and spokespeople, nonprofit officials, spokespeople with the federal Health and Human Services department, ethics experts and state officials.
Results:
We received calls and e-mails from dialysis nurses, patients and doctors, as well as a board member of the state insurance program. Editor of the RenalWeb news site inserted a note saying “This is the first article I’ve seen that exposes the relationship between the American Kidney Fund and the large, for-profit, dialysis providers.” The Oregon Medical Insurance board is scheduled to take up the matter on Jan. 4, so we’ll see what happens.
Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
none
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
Use 990s and other public records to find watchdog stories in your community.