Staff-assisted home hemodialysis
Who staff-assisted home hemodialysis is for
This service fits some people very well, and it is not right for others. This page lays out both, plainly, so you can see where you stand.
This service usually fits people who
- Are adults who need hemodialysis.
- Live in Houston or a nearby suburb.
- Have commercial insurance, either on its own or as a secondary policy alongside Medicare or a Medicare Advantage plan.
- Want dialysis at home without learning to do the treatment themselves.
- Have a kidney doctor (nephrologist) whose orders we can follow.
If most of this sounds like you, staff-assisted dialysis at home is worth a phone call. We will tell you plainly whether it fits.
Common situations
People come to us from different starting points. These are the ones we hear most often.
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The trips have worn you out
Traveling to a dialysis center three times a week is hard on many people. If you want to avoid going to a dialysis center, this service brings the treatment to you instead.
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No one at home can train as a care partner
Ordinary home hemodialysis usually requires a family member to train as your care partner. Our service does not. A licensed dialysis nurse does the treatment at every visit.
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You cannot face placing your own needles
With us, you never place your own needles. The nurse places them, which is called cannulation, and stays with you for the whole treatment.
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You need a schedule you can plan around
Treatments happen at set times in your own home, around a schedule you can plan on, whether you are working or caring for others.
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You want privacy and comfort
Treatment happens in your own space, in your own chair, with your own things around you. There is no waiting room and no shared treatment floor.
When this is not the right fit
We would rather tell you now than waste your time later. This service is not the right fit if any of the following is true.
- Medicare or a Medicare Advantage plan is your only coverage. These plans do not cover staff-assisted home hemodialysis: Original Medicare by law, and Medicare Advantage because it follows Medicare's payment rules.
- Medicaid is your only coverage. Medicaid does not cover staff-assisted home hemodialysis.
- You want to run your own treatments after training. We do not offer training-based home hemodialysis. Our nurses do the treatment for you.
- You live outside the Houston metro area.
One important exception
Medicare plus a commercial secondary policy from Blue Cross Blue Shield or UnitedHealthcare is not on the list above. That combination may qualify, and it is worth a call to 346-388-0656.
The full coverage rules are on our insurance page. The communities we serve are listed on our service area page.
If you are helping a parent decide
Many of the people who call us are adult sons and daughters looking into dialysis at home for a parent. If that is you, you are in the right place.
You can call us on your parent's behalf. We answer your questions, check the insurance, and explain what treatment in their home would look like. Nothing moves forward without your parent's agreement, and a phone call commits no one to anything.