About Us

End stage renal disease (ESRD) is irreversible kidney disease which requires treatment with an artificial kidney (dialysis) or a kidney transplant for a person to maintain life and health. In 1972, legislation was passed to extend Medicare coverage to virtually all people with ESRD. Network 15 is one of 18 Networks under contract with CMS to oversee the ESRD program. Network responsibilities include:

• Assuring the effective and efficient administration of benefits
• Improving quality of care for ESRD patients
• Collecting data to measure quality of care
• Providing assistance to ESRD patients and providers
• Evaluating and resolving patient grievances

Network 15 covers six states: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. There are over 300 dialysis and 14 transplant facilities within Network 15. These facilities serve over 20,000 dialysis and 1,000 transplant patients each year.

Learn about who Network 15 is, what the Network does, and its focus on quality improvement and helping you by watching Getting to Know Network 15. Use this video as a training aid for staff, or even for patients who just want to know more about what the Network does. 

Network 15 Goals

In accordance with the legislative mandate for the ESRD Network Program; to assist CMS in meeting Agency goals (e.g., ensuring the right care for every person every time); and in keeping with sound medical practice, the strategic goals of the ESRD Network Program are to:

• Improve the quality and safety of dialysis related services provided for individuals with ESRD.
• Improve the independence, quality of life, and rehabilitation (to the extent possible) of individuals with ESRD through transplantation, use of self-care modalities (e.g., peritoneal dialysis, home hemodialysis), in-center self-care, as medically appropriate, through the end of life.
• Improve patient perception of care and experience of care, and resolve patient's complaints and grievances.
• Improve the quality and safety of care by fostering the full engagement of patients, families, and caregivers in the design, delivery, and evaluation of care.
• Improve collaboration with providers to ensure achievement of the goals through the most efficient and effective means possible, with recognition of the differences among providers (e.g., independent, hospital-based, member of a group, affiliate of an organization, etc.) and the associated possibilities/capabilities.
• Improve the collection, reliability, timeliness, and use of data to measure processes of care and outcomes; maintain Patient Registry; and to support the ESRD Network Program.