DaVita Inc. provides kidney dialysis services through a network of 2,816 outpatient dialysis centers in the United States, serving 204,200 patients, and 321 outpatient dialysis centers in 10 other countries serving 3,200 patients. The company primarily treats end-stage renal disease (ESRD), which requires patients to undergo dialysis 3 times per week for the rest of their lives unless they receive a donor kidney. The company has a 37% market share in the U.S. dialysis market. It is organized in

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

and based in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. In 2020, 68% of the company's revenues came from Medicare and other government-based health insurance programs. In 2020, 90% of the company's patients were covered by government-based health insurance programs. Commercial payers, which accounted for 32% of revenues in 2020, generate nearly all of the company's profit as they reimburse at a much higher rate than government-based health insurance programs. The company is ranked 271st on the Fortune 500. The name "DaVita" was derived from the

Italian language Italian (''italiano'' or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. Together with Sardinian, Italian is the least divergent language from Latin. Spoken by about ...

phrase "Dare Vita", which means "giving life".

History

The company was founded in 1979 as Medical Ambulatory Care, Inc., a subsidiary of National Medical Enterprises, Inc. (now

Tenet Healthcare Tenet Healthcare Corporation is a for-profit multinational healthcare services company based in Dallas, Texas, United States. Through its brands, subsidiaries, joint ventures, and partnerships, including United Surgical Partners International (U ...

). In August 1994, 70% of the company was acquired by

DLJ Merchant Banking Partners aPriori Capital Partners is a private equity investment firm focused on leveraged buyout transactions. The firm was founded as an affiliate of Credit Suisse and traces its roots to Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, the investment bank acquired by ...

in a

leveraged buyout A leveraged buyout (LBO) is one company's acquisition of another company using a significant amount of borrowed money ( leverage) to meet the cost of acquisition. The assets of the company being acquired are often used as collateral for the loa ...

for $75.5 million, including a $10.5 million investment by DLJ. The company then changed its name to Total Renal Care Holdings, Inc. In October 1995, the company became a

public company A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange ( ...

via an

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investme ...

, raising $107 million. By December 1996, DLJ had made a 386% return on its $10.5 million investment. On February 27, 1998, the company acquired Renal Treatment Centers for $1.3 billion in stock. The integration went poorly and in July 1999, the CEO and CFO resigned. After tripling in value between 1995 and 1998, by July 1999, the stock price was down 71% year-to-date. In October 1999, Kent J. Thiry, then 43 years old, was named CEO. In 2000, the company sold its non-U.S. operations. In October 2000, the company was renamed DaVita Inc. In October 2005, the company acquired Gambro Healthcare. In October 2014, the company agreed to pay $350 million to settle claims that it provided illegal kickbacks to doctors. In June 2015, the company agreed to pay $450 million to settle allegations that it unnecessarily disposed of drugs and then billed the U.S. federal government for this waste. In June 2018, a jury awarded the families of 3 of the company's patients $383 million in

wrongful death claim Wrongful death claim is a claim against a person who can be held liable for a death. The claim is brought in a civil action, usually by close relatives, as enumerated by statute. In wrongful death cases, survivors are compensated for the harm, ...

s after the patients died from

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and poss ...

after undergoing treatment at DaVita centers. In July 2021, a federal grand jury indicted DaVita and former CEO Kent Thiry on charges of labor market collusion alleging participation in conspiracies with

Surgical Care Affiliates SCA Health (SCA), is one of the largest providers of outpatient surgery in the United States. Based in Deerfield, Illinois, the company has a network of 220 ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) in 35 states performing 1 million procedures a year. ...

to suppress competition for the services of certain senior-level employees. The company and Thiry were acquitted by a jury in April 2022.

Healthcare Partners

In 2012, DaVita acquired Healthcare Partners for $4.42 billion. In 2014, it acquired Colorado Springs Health Partners, with 600 employees and 110,000 patients. In March 2016, it acquired The Everett Clinic Medical Group, a 20-site physicians practice with 315,000 patients in the Seattle area, for $385 million. In September 2016, Healthcare Partners was renamed DaVita Medical Group. In May 2017, it acquired WellHealth Quality Care. In October 2018, it agreed to pay $270 million to settle allegations that it violated the

False Claims Act The False Claims Act (FCA), also called the "Lincoln Law", is an American federal law that imposes liability on persons and companies (typically federal contractors) who defraud governmental programs. It is the federal government's primary litigat ...

by providing inaccurate information that caused Medicare Advantage Plans to receive inflated payments. James Swoben, a

whistleblower A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...

, received $10 million. In June 2019, the division was sold to

UnitedHealth Group UnitedHealth Group Incorporated is an American multinational managed healthcare and insurance company based in Minnetonka, Minnesota. It offers health care products and insurance services. UnitedHealth Group is the world's seventh largest ...

Optum Optum, Inc. is an American pharmacy benefit manager and health care provider. It has been a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group since 2011. UHG formed Optum by merging its existing pharmacy and care delivery services into the single Optum brand ...

division for $4.3 billion.

References

External links

* {{authority control Health care companies based in Colorado Companies based in Denver Renal dialysis organizations in the United States Health care companies established in 1979 American companies established in 1979 1979 establishments in California Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange 1995 initial public offerings Berkshire Hathaway