In this episode of "Healthcare on the Rocks: Employee Benefits with a Twist," Scott Vold, the Chief Commercial Officer at Renalogic, describes the complexities of kidney disease, its treatment, and the economic impact on employers and their health plans. Scott talks about the critical and often overlooked public health crisis of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and the intricacies of the dialysis market. 

With a background in health technology and actuary, Scott explains Renalogic's mission to manage both the human and financial costs of CKD for self-funded health plans. He shares eye-opening statistics, such as the fact that about 37 million adult Americans have CKD, with a staggering 90% unaware of their condition, highlighting the disease's silent proliferation and its ranking as the ninth-leading cause of death in the U.S., projected to rise to fifth by 2040.

The discussion also covers the evolution of the dialysis market into a duopoly, which has led to inflated costs for treatments, emphasizing the need for a strategic approach to healthcare management within self-funded health plans.

Key takeaways from the episode include:

• The severe underdiagnosis of CKD and its correlation with other chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension, underlining the necessity for better awareness and early detection.
• The economic burden of dialysis treatment on employers, with costs often being a top health plan expense, and how Renalogic helps reduce these costs through unit cost reduction and disease management.
• An in-depth look at the dialysis market's evolution into a duopoly, with Scott detailing how this market structure leads to inflated costs for health plans and limited options for patients.
• Practical advice for employers on tackling CKD, including leveraging data for early detection, rejecting complacency in accepting high dialysis costs, and engaging with specialized care management programs like Renalogic's to prevent disease progression and reduce expenses.

The episode provides an insightful perspective on the challenges of managing CKD and the strategies employers can adopt to address this growing concern, emphasizing the importance of proactive healthcare management and specialized care programs in improving patient outcomes and achieving cost savings.

Stay in Touch!

• Connect with Scott Vold on LinkedIn
• Visit Renalogic
• Learn more about the Springbuk Activate Partner Marketplace and get other related resources
• Get the complete 2024 Employee Health Trends report and other related resources

Connect with our co-hosts Jennifer Jones and David Pittman

Have feedback, questions, or suggestions for show ideas? Send them to us at podcast@springbuk.com.

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Produced by David Pittman

Theme music: "Overboard" by Stay Outside