Young people file more kidney dialysis claims [infographic]

Fair Health is seeing a sharp increase in the chances that privately insured, working-age adults will file claims for kidney dialysis.

The rate of increase seems to be higher for younger insureds than for older insureds, analysts at the group say.

New York state regulators required health insurers to fund Fair Health in 2009, in connection with a regulatory practices action settlement. Analysts at the nonprofit group now have access to a database containing 20 billion medical and dental claims that were filed with private insurers. 

See also: The costliest diseases in the U.S. [infographic]

Analysts looked at the dialysis claims data to create an infographic for National Kidney Month, which is celebrated in March.

The analysts found that the likelihood that a privately insured baby boomer would file a dialysis claim increased 15 percent between 2012 and 2014. 

That was the lowest rate of increase. The younger the insured was, the higher the rate of increase in dialysis use was. Privately insured millennial insureds were 39 percent more likely to file dialysis claims in 2014 than in 2012.

The increase could reflect the aging of the insureds and changes in the percentage of people suffering from kidney failure who have private coverage, rather than Medicare coverage. It could also reflect the effects of rising diabetes rates on the insureds’ kidneys.