DaVita HealthCare Partners continued to see higher patient volume in its kidney care division, a unit that has bolstered the company's overall financial performance in recent quarters.
And in what has become a familiar story, its multispecialty medical group continued to post lower year-over-year profits compared with DaVita's legacy kidney care business.
Denver-based DaVita reported second quarter net income of $170 million, after adjusting for special items, on $3.4 billion in revenue compared with net income of $148 million on $3.2 billion in revenue during the prior-year period.
The special items included $29 million in debt redemption charges and a $7.5 million tax adjustment related to its settlement of a whistle-blower suit. The whistle-blower, Dr. Alon Vainer, alleged that DaVita overbilled Medicare and Medicaid by charging the full amount for drugs that were only partially used and then discarded.
DaVita included the $495 million settlement in its first quarter results.
The number of daily dialysis treatments increased 3.7% year over year, or 4.3% when newly acquired facilities were included. The kidney care division posted $438 million in income on $2.2 billion in revenue compared with the year-ago period's $408 million in income on $2 billion in revenue.
HCP, the multispecialty medical group, saw a 2.8% increase in its membership, which it serves on a capitated basis. The division saw $72 million in income on $966 million in revenue compared with the comparable period's $82 million in income on $887 million in revenue.
“On the business development side of HealthCare Partners, we are getting better,” DaVita CEO Kent Thiry said on an earnings call. “We have two strong business positions both enjoying some steady unit growth … and we are investing significantly in our future.”
DaVita raised the lower end of its financial guidance to investors and now expects an additional $25 million in revenue coming from its kidney care division. It is forecasting full-year revenue in the range of $1.825 billion to $1.925 billion, raising the floor from $1.8 billion.
