Home Dialysis in Houston: Frequently Asked Questions
Elik Home Dialysis answers the questions Houston patients and families actually ask about staff-assisted home hemodialysis: a licensed dialysis nurse performs every step of every treatment in your home, with no care partner and no training required. The straight answers on eligibility, insurance, and starting are below.
The service
- Call Elik Home Dialysis. In one free, no-obligation call, Elik checks your exact plan for you. If you have Blue Cross Blue Shield, including all Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) commercial plans, Cigna, or UnitedHealthcare commercial insurance, on its own or as a secondary plan alongside Medicare, you qualify.
- Yes. A licensed Elik dialysis nurse performs every step at every visit: setup, needle placement, the full treatment, monitoring, breakdown, and documentation for your doctor. You never operate a machine or place a needle.
- Hemodialysis performed entirely by a licensed nurse in your own home. Texas permits up to twelve patients per nurse in a dialysis center; with Elik, your nurse takes care of you alone, one to one, for the entire treatment.
- No. The Elik nurse does both, at every treatment. Nothing about the treatment is ever handed to you or your family.
Who qualifies
- Yes. Because the Elik nurse performs the whole treatment, living alone is one of the most common reasons patients choose Elik.
- No. The nurse is the care partner. No family training, no family involvement, ever.
- Yes. Seniors who want to stay in their own homes, and residents of assisted living and skilled nursing facilities, are treated without leaving the building.
- Two situations put staff-assisted home hemodialysis on hold: your nephrologist judges you medically unstable enough to need facility-based care for a period of time, or your residence has no workable treatment space (a chair or bed near reliable power and water, which our staff assesses before the first treatment). The first is a temporary clinical status, not a verdict. Everyone else who wants home treatment but cannot or will not self-administer it is exactly who this service exists for.
Insurance
How to check your coverage in Houston
- No. Original Medicare does not pay for staff-assisted home hemodialysis, by law. Medicare Advantage plans follow Medicare's reimbursement rules, so they do not pay for it either. Elik provides staff-assisted home hemodialysis for eligible patients with BCBS, Cigna, or UnitedHealthcare/UHC commercial coverage, including when Medicare is the primary insurance. Medicare-only, Medicare Advantage (including BCBS, Cigna, or UHC Medicare Advantage plans), Medicare supplement (Medigap) plans, and Medicaid do not pay for this service through Elik. If you have Blue Cross Blue Shield, including all Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) commercial plans, Cigna, or UnitedHealthcare commercial insurance, on its own or as a secondary plan alongside Medicare, you qualify. Elik confirms your exact plan in one phone call.
- Elik is in-network with Blue Cross Blue Shield, including all Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) commercial plans, Cigna, and UnitedHealthcare. If you have Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, or UnitedHealthcare commercial insurance, on its own or as a secondary plan alongside Medicare, you qualify. One call to Elik confirms your exact plan. Coverage details on the insurance page
- No. Elik checks your plan directly with your insurance company in that one call. You do not need to call your insurer or a benefits broker first.
- No. Blue Cross Blue Shield, including all Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) commercial plans, Cigna, and UnitedHealthcare commercial plans cover staff-assisted home hemodialysis the same way in an assisted living or skilled nursing facility as in a private home. Elik checks your plan in the same free call.
Living with home dialysis
- The Elik nurse is with you for the entire treatment, watching your blood pressure and the machine from start to finish. The nurse handles machine alarms and symptoms such as cramping or dizziness, follows Elik's emergency procedures, and reports to your nephrologist. You never have to manage it yourself.
- Once you are an Elik patient, your care team gives you the number to call between treatments and at night. For a medical emergency, call 911.
- Call Elik right away. If treatment cannot be done safely at home, Elik arranges a backup treatment so you keep your prescribed schedule, and your nephrologist is kept informed.
- Yes. Tell Elik at least 30 days before your trip. Elik requests a treatment chair at a dialysis center where you are going and sends the labs it needs, which must be current within 30 days. With less notice, Elik can still send a request, but a chair is not guaranteed.
- Yes. Your Elik care team includes a dietitian and a social worker alongside your nurse, and your own nephrologist stays in charge. The dietitian helps you with your diet and fluid limits, which your nephrologist sets.
- Yes. Keep pets out of the treatment area while the nurse sets up and during the treatment, so the area stays clean. Our staff will talk through where pets stay when they visit your home.
Starting
- Most patients begin home dialysis within four to five days of insurance confirmation. Urgent clinical starts can move faster.
- No. You keep your own nephrologist. Every treatment runs under their orders, and they receive documentation after every visit.
- Yes. Treatments are scheduled around your hours, not against them.
- Yes. The complete treatment happens inside the building, coordinated directly with the facility, anywhere in the Houston metro.
- Call Elik. We confirm your plan in one call, coordinate orders directly with your kidney doctor's office, and schedule your first home treatment. You make one phone call; Elik does the rest.
Check if you qualify for staff-assisted home hemodialysis
A licensed dialysis nurse performs your entire treatment at home. Elik confirms whether your commercial plan covers it in one free call.
Elik Home Dialysis is a licensed Texas dialysis provider.
Elik Home Dialysis | 1445 North Loop West, Ste 720, Houston, TX 77008 | (713) 861-7500
Last reviewed: October 2026