About the Piece

Nearly 40 years after Congress created a unique entitlement for patients with kidney failure, U.S. death rates and per-patient costs are among the world’s highest while the biggest for-profit providers flourish. To read the series, visit: Dialysis: High Costs and Hidden Perils of a Treatment Guaranteed to All

About the Writer

Robin Fields has worked for the Los Angeles Times since 1999, and as a full-time investigative reporter since 2002. Stories she has done in recent years include investigations into rogue political fundraiser Norman Hsu, California’s adult guardianship system and abuses at the J. Paul Getty Trust. Fields began her career at the Sun-Sentinel in South Florida. Fields has received a National Journalism Award for investigative reporting, a Sigma Delta Chi Public Service Award and an Associated Press Managing Editors Public Service Award.