FMS reported yesterday and proved my point about increased mortality in 1Q 2022 being a headwind for DVA. FMS's disclosure may also be pointed to what I suspect will be a policy concern in the coming months, especially if it is translated into persistent mortality among dialysis patients. FMS reported 12,858,103 treatments for 343,493 patients or 37.43 treatments per patient for the quarter. In 4Q 2021, DVA performed 7,455,560 treatments on 243,000 patients or about 30.68 per patients for the quarter. The standard of care is three treatments per week.
We need to wait for DVA's report to see what they say about labor costs but if they once again keep the cost line perfectly parallel to the revenue line, the difference in treatments performed by the two companies may be explained by limiting throughput to protect their net income line. Not something the government is going to like to hear.
Have a great day and let me know your thoughts.
Emily Evans
Managing Director – Health Policy
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