Traveling on Dialysis
With a bit of planning, you can travel almost anywhere and keep to your treatment schedule.
Visitor hemodialysis at 黑料黑历史
Planning a visit to the Seattle area? If you鈥檙e traveling to the greater Puget Sound region, we鈥檒l happily host your treatments in one of our 20 dialysis centers. Please get in touch at least 30 days before you arrive so that we can arrange times and dates that work for you.
In-center dialysis patient Emmett Smith.
Common questions
Although dialysis centers normally need at least one month to prepare for a visiting dialysis patient, we can try to help you arrange last-minute treatments in a facility at your destination if you need to travel suddenly. Talk to your nurse manager or social worker as soon as you know you’ll need to travel.
If Medicare is your primary insurance provider, around 80 percent of your dialysis costs while traveling within the U.S. will be covered. It鈥檚 up to you or a secondary provider to pay the rest.
If you have State (Medicaid), private or group insurance, it鈥檚 important to contact your insurance聽to check on coverage for dialysis outside of your normal service area. Some insurance companies limit coverage out of state, out of the country or on a cruise ship.聽Ask your insurance provider what percentage the company聽will聽pay. Also find out聽whether聽you need to go to a contracted provider or get聽preauthorization or聽a referral in order to have dialysis covered.
If you don’t follow the procedure set out by your insurance company, you could be left with a large bill to pay.
Pack your medications and relevant medical records, including your doctor’s聽contact information, in your carry-on聽luggage. If you鈥檙e a home dialysis user, consider shipping your dialysis supplies to your destination in advance.
Also, be sure to pack your own kidney-friendly snacks because airport restaurants do not always offer the healthiest choices.
When you book your flights, ask for a meal that fits your doctor’s recommendations for healthy eating. Choose a hotel with a restaurant that offers healthy choices. Carry聽enough food with you to cover your needs until you arrive at your destination.
If you鈥檙e a peritoneal dialysis or home hemodialysis patient, you may want to ship your dialysis supplies to your hotel in advance. Call the hotel to let them know important medical supplies will be arriving in your name.聽
Yes. Before you go, share your travel itinerary with your transplant coordinator. Depending on how far you plan to travel, you may need to be placed 鈥渙n hold鈥� until you return. However, if your coordinator determines that you could return with enough time to receive a transplant, your status on the waiting list won鈥檛 change.
“We had great runs through the rapids and daily fantastic side trips. We had July weather: wind, rain and hail, alone and in combination. I had a dozen moments of a lifetime. Seeing the canyon was a gift. I am so thankful for it.”