We are delivering this Proxy Statement in connection with the solicitation of proxies by our Board of Directors (the "Board"), for use at our 2016 annual meeting of stockholders, which we will hold on Monday, June 20, 2016 at 5:30 p.m., Mountain Time, at DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc. (the "Company"), 2000 16^th Street, Denver, Colorado 80202. The proxies will remain valid for use at any meetings held upon adjournment of that meeting. The record date for the annual meeting is the close of business on April 22, 2016. All holders of record of our common stock on the record date are entitled to notice of the annual meeting and to vote at the annual meeting and any meetings held upon adjournment of that meeting. Our principal executive offices are located at 2000 16^th Street, Denver, Colorado, 80202, and our telephone number is (303) 405-2100. To obtain directions to our annual meeting, visit our website, located at http://www.davita.com.

In accordance with rules and regulations adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), instead of mailing a printed copy of our proxy materials to each stockholder of record or beneficial owner, we are furnishing the proxy materials to our stockholders over the Internet, which include this Proxy Statement and the accompanying Notice of Meeting, Proxy Card, and Annual Report to Stockholders. Because you received a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials by mail, you will not receive a printed copy of the proxy materials, unless you have previously made a permanent election to receive these materials in paper copy. Instead, the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials instructs you as to how you may access and review all of the important information contained in the proxy materials, and how you may submit your vote by proxy on the Internet. If you received a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials by mail and would like to receive a printed copy of our proxy materials, you should follow the instructions for requesting such materials included in the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials. The Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials will be first mailed on or about May [    ], 2016 to all stockholders of record as of April 22, 2016.

Whether or not you plan to attend the annual meeting in person, please vote by telephone, Internet, or request a

Proxy Card to complete, sign, date and return by mail to ensure that your shares will be voted at the annual meeting. You may revoke your proxy at any time prior to its use by filing with our secretary an instrument revoking it or a duly executed proxy bearing a later date or by attending the annual meeting and voting in person.

If you plan to attend the annual meeting in person, please so indicate when you submit your proxy by mail, by telephone or via the Internet and bring with you the items that are required pursuant to the Company's admission process for the 2016 Annual Meeting. A description of the admission process can be found below in this Proxy Statement under the heading "General Information — Admission to Annual Meeting."

Unless you instruct otherwise in the proxy, any proxy that is given and not revoked will be voted at the annual meeting:

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For the election of the ten director nominees identified in this proxy statement to serve until the 2017 annual meeting of stockholders of the Company or until their successors are duly elected and qualified;

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For the ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for fiscal year 2016;

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For the approval, on an advisory basis, of executive compensation;

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For the adoption and approval of the proposed amendments to our Amended and Restated Bylaws to adopt proxy access;

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For the adoption and approval of an amendment to increase the number of shares available under our Employee Stock Purchase Plan by 7,500,000 shares;

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Against the stockholder proposal regarding action by written consent, if properly presented at the annual meeting; and

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As determined by the proxy holders named in the Proxy Card in their discretion, with regard to all other matters as may properly come before the annual meeting or any adjournment thereof.

Our only voting securities are the outstanding shares of our common stock. At the record date, we had approximately 206,518,830 shares of common stock outstanding. Each stockholder is entitled to one vote per share on each matter that we will consider at this meeting. Stockholders are not entitled to cumulate votes. Under the rules of the New York Stock Exchange, your bank, broker, or other nominee may not vote your uninstructed shares in the election of directors and certain other matters on a discretionary basis. Accordingly, brokers holding shares of record for their customers generally are not entitled to vote on these matters unless their customers give them specific voting instructions. If the broker does not receive specific instructions, the broker will note this on the proxy form or otherwise advise us that it lacks voting authority. Thus, if you hold your shares in "street name," meaning that your shares are registered in the name of your bank,

broker, or other nominee, and you do not instruct your bank, broker, or other nominee how to vote, no votes will be cast on your behalf on any proposal other than the proposal for the ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for fiscal year 2016. The votes that the brokers would have cast if their customers had given them specific instructions are commonly called "broker non-votes." If the stockholders of record present in person or represented by their proxies and entitled to vote at the annual meeting hold at least a majority of our shares of common stock outstanding as of the record date, a quorum will exist for the transaction of business at the annual meeting. Stockholders attending the annual meeting in person or represented by proxy at the annual meeting who abstain from voting and broker non-votes are counted as present for quorum purposes.

Directors are elected by a majority of votes cast, which means that the number of shares voted "for" each of the ten nominees for election to the Board must exceed 50% of the number of votes cast with respect to each nominee's election. Abstentions and broker non-votes will not be counted as votes cast and will have no effect on the election of directors. In the event that the number of nominees exceeds the number of directors to be elected, which is a situation that we do not anticipate, directors will be elected by a plurality of the shares represented in person or by proxy at any such meeting and entitled to vote on the election of directors.

The ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for fiscal year 2016, the approval of the proposal regarding the advisory vote on executive compensation, the approval of the proxy amendments to our Bylaws, the approval of the amendment to our Employee Stock Purchase Plan, and the stockholder proposal, if properly brought before

the annual meeting, each require the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares of common stock present at the annual meeting in person or by proxy and entitled to vote thereon. Because your vote on executive compensation and the stockholder proposal is advisory, the results of those votes will not be binding on the Company or the Board. However, the Board and any applicable Board committee will consider the voting results as appropriate when making future decisions regarding executive compensation and matters related to the subject of the stockholder proposal. Abstentions are considered present and entitled to vote with respect to each of these proposals and will, therefore, have the same effect as votes against these proposals. Except for the proposal to ratify the appointment of KPMG LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for fiscal year 2016, broker non-votes will not be considered as present and entitled to vote on these proposals, and will therefore have no effect on the number of affirmative votes needed to approve these proposals.

We will pay for the cost of preparing, assembling, printing and mailing of the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials, this Proxy Statement and the accompanying Notice of Meeting, Proxy Card, and Annual Report to Stockholders to our stockholders, as well as the cost of our solicitation of proxies relating to

the annual meeting. We may request banks and brokers to solicit their customers who beneficially own our common stock listed of record in names of nominees. We will reimburse these banks and brokers for their reasonable out-of-pocket expenses regarding these solicitations. We have also retained MacKenzie

Partners, Inc. ("MacKenzie") to assist in the distribution and solicitation of proxies and to verify records related to the solicitation at a fee of $15,000 plus reimbursement for all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred during the solicitation. MacKenzie and our officers, directors and employees may supplement the original solicitation by mail of proxies, by telephone,

facsimile, e-mail and personal solicitation. We will pay no additional compensation to our officers, directors and employees for these activities. We have agreed to indemnify MacKenzie against liabilities and expenses arising in connection with the proxy solicitation unless caused by MacKenzie's negligence or intentional misconduct.

Beneficial owners, but not record holders, of our common stock who share a single address may receive only one copy of the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials and, as applicable, an Annual Report to Stockholders and Proxy Statement, unless their broker has received contrary instructions from any beneficial owner at that address. This practice, known as "householding," is designed to reduce printing and mailing costs. If any beneficial owner at such an address wishes to discontinue householding and receive a separate copy of the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials and, if applicable, an Annual Report to Stockholders and Proxy Statement, they should notify their broker. Beneficial owners sharing an address to which a single copy of the Notice of Internet Availability

of Proxy Materials and, if applicable, an Annual Report to Stockholders and Proxy Statement was delivered can also request prompt delivery of a separate copy of the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials and, if applicable, an Annual Report to Stockholders and Proxy Statement by contacting Investor Relations at the following address or phone number: Attn: Investor Relations, DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc., 2000 16^th Street, Denver, Colorado 80202, (888) 484-7505. Additionally, stockholders who share the same address and receive multiple copies of the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials and, if applicable, an Annual Report to Stockholders and Proxy Statement, can request a single copy by contacting us at the address or phone number above.

Admission to the annual meeting will be limited to holders of the Company's common stock, family members accompanying holders of the Company's common stock, persons holding executed proxies from stockholders who held the Company's common stock as of the close of business on April 22, 2016 and such other persons as the chair of the annual meeting shall determine.

If you are a holder of the Company's common stock, you must bring certain documents with you in order to be admitted to the annual meeting and in order to bring family members with you. The purpose of this requirement is to help us verify that you are actually a holder of the Company's common stock. Please read the following procedures carefully, because they specify the documents that you must bring with you to the annual meeting in order to be admitted. The items that you must bring with you differ depending upon whether or not you were a record holder of the Company's common stock as of the close of business on April 22, 2016. A "record holder" of stock is someone whose shares of stock are registered in his or her name in the records of the Company's transfer agent. Many stockholders are not record holders because their shares of stock are held in "street name," meaning that the shares are registered in the name of their broker, bank or other nominee, and the broker, bank or other nominee is the record holder

instead. If you are unsure as to whether you were a record holder of the Company's common stock as of the close of business on April 22, 2016, please call the Company's transfer agent, Computershare, at (877) 889-2012.

If you were a record holder of the Company's common stock as of the close of business on April 22, 2016, then you must bring a valid personal photo identification (such as a driver's license or passport).

At the annual meeting, we will check your name for verification purposes against our list of record holders as of the close of business on April 22, 2016.

If a broker, bank or other nominee was the record holder of your shares of the Company's common stock as of the close of business on April 22, 2016, then you must bring:

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valid personal photo identification (such as a driver's license or passport); and

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proof that you owned shares of the Company's common stock as of the close of business on April 22, 2016.

Examples of proof of ownership include the following: (i) an original or a copy of the voting instruction from your bank or broker with your name on it, (ii) a letter from your bank or broker stating that you owned the Company's common stock as of the close of business on April 22, 2016, or (iii) a brokerage account statement indicating that you owned the Company's common stock as of the close of business on April 22, 2016.

If you acquired your shares of the Company's common stock at any time after the close of business on April 22, 2016, you do not have the right to vote at the annual meeting, but you may attend the meeting if you bring with you:

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valid personal photo identification (such as a driver's license or passport); and

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proof that you own shares of the Company's common stock.

Examples of proof of ownership include the following:

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if a broker, bank or other nominee is the record holder of your shares of the Company's common stock: (i) a letter from your bank or broker stating that you acquired the Company's common stock after April 22, 2016, or (ii) a brokerage account statement as of a date after April 22, 2016 indicating that you own the Company's common stock; or

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if you are the record holder of your shares of the Company's common stock, a copy of your stock certificate or a confirmation acceptable to the Company that you bought the stock after April 22, 2016.

If you are a proxy holder for a stockholder of the Company who owned shares of the Company's common stock as of the close of business on April 22, 2016, then you must bring:

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the executed proxy naming you as the proxy holder, signed by a stockholder of the Company who owned shares of the Company's common stock as of the close of business on April 22, 2016;

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valid personal photo identification (such as a driver's license or passport); and

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if the stockholder whose proxy you hold was not a record holder of the Company's common stock as of the close of business on April 22, 2016, proof of the stockholder's ownership of shares of the Company's common stock as of the close of business on April 22, 2016, in the form of (i) an original or a copy of the voting instruction form from the stockholder's bank or broker with the stockholder's name on it, or (ii) a letter or statement from a bank, broker or other nominee indicating that the stockholder owned the Company's common stock as of the close of business on April 22, 2016.

No cameras, recording equipment, electronic devices, large bags, briefcases or packages will be permitted at the annual meeting. Shares may be voted in person at the annual meeting only by (a) the record holder as of the close of business on April 22, 2016 or (b) a person holding a valid proxy executed by such record holder.

Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Annual Meeting to Be Held on June 20, 2016. This Proxy Statement and the Annual

Report to Stockholders and Form 10-K for fiscal year 2015 are available electronically at www.proxyvote.com.

At the annual meeting, you will elect ten directors to serve until the 2017 annual meeting of stockholders or until their respective successors are elected and qualified, subject to such director's earlier death, resignation, disqualification or removal.

Our bylaws require that each director be elected by the majority of votes cast with respect to such director in uncontested elections. In a contested election, where the number of nominees for director exceeds the number of directors to be elected, directors are elected by a plurality of shares represented in person or by proxy at any such meeting and entitled to vote on the election of directors. If a nominee for director who was in office prior to the election is not elected by a majority of votes cast, the director must promptly tender his or her resignation from the Board, and the Nominating and Governance Committee of the Board will make a recommendation to the Board about whether to accept or reject the resignation, or whether to take other action. The Board, excluding the director in question, will act on the recommendation of the Nominating and Governance Committee and publicly disclose its decision and its rationale within 90 days (or, if so extended by the Board in certain circumstances, within 180 days) from the date the election results are certified. If a nominee for director who was not already serving as a director does not receive a majority of votes cast in an uncontested election at the annual meeting, the nominee is not elected to the Board. All 2016 nominees are currently serving on the Board.

None of the nominees has any family relationship with any other nominee or with any of our executive officers and no arrangement or understanding exists between any nominee and any other person or persons pursuant

to which a nominee was or is to be selected as a director or nominee.

After a thorough evaluation and assessment, the Nominating and Governance Committee has recommended, and the Board has re-nominated, Pamela M. Arway, Charles G. Berg, Carol Anthony ("John") Davidson, Barbara J. Desoer, Paul J. Diaz, Peter T. Grauer, John M. Nehra, William L. Roper, Kent J. Thiry and Roger J. Valine for election as directors. Please see the section titled "Corporate Governance — Selection of Directors" below for more information about the re-nomination process.

Nine of the ten nominees for director have been determined to be independent under the listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE"). Please see the section titled "Corporate Governance — Director Independence" below for more information. Each nominee has consented to being named in this Proxy Statement as a nominee and has agreed to serve as a director if elected.

Unless the proxy indicates otherwise, the persons named as proxies in the accompanying proxy have advised us that at the annual meeting they intend to vote the shares covered by the proxies for the election of the nominees named above. If one or more of the nominees are unable or not willing to serve, the persons named as proxies may vote for the election of the substitute nominees that the Board may propose. The accompanying proxy contains a discretionary grant of authority with respect to this matter. The persons named as proxies may not vote for a greater number of persons than the number of nominees named above.

The general governance framework for the Company is provided by its bylaws, corporate governance guidelines, the charters for each of the Board's committees, the corporate governance code of ethics and corporate code of conduct. These governance documents are available under the Corporate

Governance section of our website, located at http://www.davita.com/about/corporate-governance. The Board adopted the corporate governance guidelines to assist the Board and its committees in performing their duties and serving the best interests of the Company and our stockholders.

In making recommendation to the Board, the Nominating and Governance Committee considers a number of factors and assesses the overall mix of qualifications, individual characteristics, experience level, and diverse perspectives and skills that are most beneficial to our Company. The committee also considers the mix of different tenures of the directors, taking into account the benefits of directors with longer tenures, including greater board stability and continuity of organizational knowledge, and the benefits of directors with shorter tenures, and takes steps as may be appropriate to ensure that the Board maintains an openness to new ideas and a willingness to re-examine the status quo. In connection with the re-nomination of current directors, it is the committee's responsibility to determine in each case whether re-nomination is appropriate. The committee assesses each director's performance and contributions to the Board, as well as his or her skills, experience and qualifications, including the continued value to the Company in light of current and future needs, including whether the Company's needs for the director's experience and background have changed. If the incumbent director has not performed or contributed in a meaningful way, the committee should consider whether re-nomination is

appropriate in light of any other relevant facts and circumstances. Another integral part of this process is the individual director evaluations by the Board members. The Company does not have a specific diversity policy. However, as noted in our corporate governance guidelines, when selecting nominees the committee considers diversity of skills, experience, perspective and background. The Nominating and Governance Committee will consider nominees for director recommended by stockholders upon submission in writing to our Corporate Secretary of the names and qualifications of such nominees at the following address, within the timeframe and subject to the other requirements set forth in our bylaws: Corporate Secretary, DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc., 2000 16th Street, Denver, Colorado 80202. The committee will evaluate candidates based on the same criteria regardless of whether the candidate was recommended by the Company or a stockholder.

In March 2016, the Nominating and Governance Committee recommended the candidates standing for election at the 2016 annual meeting of stockholders.

Under the listing standards of the NYSE, a majority of the members of the Board must satisfy the NYSE criteria for "independence." No director qualifies as independent under the NYSE listing standards unless the Board affirmatively determines that the director has no material relationship with the Company (either directly or as a partner, stockholder or officer of an organization that has a relationship with the Company). In addition, the Board has adopted a formal set of standards used to determine director independence. The full text of our director independence standards is available under the Corporate Governance section of our website, located at http://www.davita.com/about/corporate-governance.

The Board evaluates the independence of our directors annually and will review the independence of individual directors on an interim basis to consider changes in employment, relationships and other factors. The Board has determined that all of the individuals currently serving, or who served at any time during 2015, as members of the Board, other than Mr. Thiry, are independent under the NYSE listing standards and the Company's independence standards. In evaluating each director's independence, the Board considered the nature of any executive officer's personal investment interest in director affiliated entities (active or passive), the level of involvement by the director or executive officer as a partner in any such director affiliated entities, any special arrangements between the

parties which would lead to a personal benefit, any personal benefits derived as a result of business relationships with the Company, any other personal benefit derived by any director or executive officer as a result of the disclosed relationships or any other relevant factors.

In assessing director independence, the Board considered investments made in the past by some Board members and executive officers of the Company in certain funds of a venture capital firm of which Mr. Nehra is a retired special partner or that are managed directly or indirectly by the firm of which Mr. Nehra is a retired special partner. The Board also considered transactions in which WellCare has made payments to us for services rendered in the ordinary course of business in the last three years which did not exceed the greater of $1 million or 2% of WellCare's consolidated gross revenue in each such year. Mr. Berg was a director and non-executive chairman of WellCare until May 2013 and holds less than a 10% beneficial interest in WellCare. The Board also considered the $465,000 of additional fees in the aggregate paid to Mr. Berg in his role as a member of the Board's Compliance Committee in 2013 and 2014, in overseeing the 2010 U.S. Attorney physician relationship investigation and the 2011 U.S. Attorney physician relationship investigation ("PRI"), at the request of the Board, as well as the $59,000 additional fees paid to Mr. Berg in 2015 in his role as the chairman of the Board's Compliance Committee, in overseeing matters related to the subpoenas received by HCP and the five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement

entered into between the Company and the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, in connection with the resolution of PRI (the "Corporate Integrity Agreement"). In addition, the Board considered the transactions in which Kindred has made payments to us for services rendered in the ordinary course of business in the last three years which did not exceed the greater of $1 million or 2% of Kindred's consolidated gross revenue in each such year. Mr. Diaz is Kindred's executive vice chairman and director, and has less than a 10% beneficial interest in Kindred.

The Board maintains a policy whereby the Board will evaluate the appropriateness of the director's continued service on the Board in the event that the director retires from his or her principal job, changes his or her principal job responsibility or experiences a significant event that could negatively affect his or her service to the Board. In such event, the policy provides that the affected director shall promptly submit his or her resignation to the chairman of the Board and the lead independent director. The members of the Board, excluding the affected director, will determine whether the affected director's continued service on the Board is in the best interests of our stockholders and will decide whether or not to accept the resignation of the director. In addition, the policy provides that prior to accepting an invitation to serve on the board of directors of another public company, a director must advise the chairman of the Board and the lead independent director so that the remaining members of the Board may evaluate any potential conflicts of interest.

Mr. Thiry is the chairman of our Board and the chief executive officer of the Company. Since October 2014, Mr. Thiry has also served as chief executive officer of HCP. Mr. Thiry brings over 15 years of experience with our Company and deep institutional knowledge and experience to the combined role.

We believe that Mr. Thiry's experience and knowledge as CEO and chairman are essential to the chairman role and are counterbalanced appropriately by the significant role of the lead independent director. Our lead independent director, Mr. Grauer, who was elected by and from the independent board members, plays a significant role in Board leadership and meetings of the independent directors. Mr. Grauer also chairs our Nominating and Governance Committee, and as chairman of the Nominating and Governance

Committee, Mr. Grauer has the authority to call meetings of the committee, whose primary purpose, as outlined in its charter, includes overseeing the evaluation of the Company's management, including the CEO.

As lead independent director, Mr. Grauer serves as liaison between the chairman and the independent directors, approves information sent to the Board, confers with the CEO/chairman in setting and thereafter approving meeting agendas for the Board, approves meeting schedules to assure that there is sufficient time for discussion of all agenda items, and presides at all meetings of the Board at which the chairman is not present, including executive sessions of independent directors. Additionally, Mr. Grauer facilitates discussions outside of scheduled Board meetings among the independent directors on key issues as required, and

decides when to engage independent advisors for the Board or a Board committee. Mr. Grauer, in his capacity as lead independent director, also has the authority to call meetings of the Board and the independent directors and, if requested by major stockholders, makes himself available for consultation and direct communication with them.

Independent directors meet regularly in executive sessions without management. Executive sessions are held in conjunction with each regularly scheduled meeting of the Board.

Any interested party who desires to contact the lead independent director, Mr. Grauer, may do so by sending an email to leaddirector@davita.com. In addition, any interested party who desires to contact the Board or any member of the Board may do so by writing to: Board of Directors, c/o Corporate Secretary, DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc., 2000 16^th Street, Denver, Colorado 80202. Copies of any such written

communications received by the Corporate Secretary will be provided to the full Board or the appropriate member depending on the facts and circumstances described in the communication unless they are considered, in the reasonable judgment of the Secretary, to be improper for submission to the intended recipient(s).

We do not have a policy requiring that directors attend the annual meeting of stockholders. At the last annual

meeting of stockholders, our chairman and CEO, Mr. Thiry, attended the meeting.

The Board has established the following committees: the Audit Committee, the Compensation Committee, the Nominating and Governance Committee, the Compliance Committee, the Public Policy Committee, and the Clinical Performance Committee. The Board met

9 times during 2015. Each of our directors attended at least 75% of the aggregate of the total number of meetings of the Board and the total number of meetings held by all committees of the Board on which he or she served during 2015.

1

Mr. Nehra served on the Compliance Committee until March 31, 2016.

2

Ms. Desoer was appointed to the Clinical Performance Committee and Compliance Committee on March 31, 2016.

1

Member of the Compensation Committee and is (a) independent under the listing standards of the NYSE and the Company's independence standards, (b) a "nonemployee director" under Rule 16b-3 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act"), and (c) an "outside director" as defined in Internal Revenue Service regulations.

2

Member of the Audit Committee and qualifies as an "audit committee financial expert" within the meaning of the rules of the SEC and each is "independent" and "financially literate" under the listing standards of the NYSE and the Company's independence standards.

3

Mr. Grauer is our Lead Independent Director.

*

Current as of March 31, 2016.

The Board's involvement in risk oversight involves the Audit Committee, the Compliance Committee and the full Board. Each of the Audit Committee and Compliance Committee are comprised of independent non-executive directors. The Audit Committee is responsible for legal and regulatory risk oversight and the Compliance Committee has primary responsibility for oversight of healthcare legal and regulatory compliance requirements. The Audit Committee and the Compliance Committee meet regularly with our chief legal officer or the corporate secretary, as the case may be, and chief compliance officer, and work together to assist the Board with oversight of legal and compliance enterprise risk management and to ensure that management identifies, monitors, controls and reports such compliance risk exposures. The Compliance Committee reviews significant healthcare legal and regulatory compliance risk areas, and meets on a regular basis and reports directly to the Board on its findings. The Audit Committee receives materials on enterprise risk management on an annual basis. These materials include identification of top enterprise risks for

the Company, the alignment of management's accountability and reporting for these risks, and mapping of the Board's and Audit Committee's oversight responsibilities for key risks. In addition, the Audit Committee and the full Board periodically receive materials to address the identification and status of major risks to the Company. The Audit Committee discusses significant risk areas and the actions management has taken to monitor, control, and report such exposures. The Audit Committee also reviews with the Company's chief legal officer or corporate secretary, as the case may be, legal matters that may have a material impact on the Company's financial statements, the Company's compliance with applicable laws and regulations, and material reports or inquiries received from governmental agencies, including such matters identified by the Compliance Committee or the chief compliance officer. At each meeting of the full Board, the chairman of the Audit Committee reports on the activities of the Audit Committee, including risks identified and risk oversight.

We have a share ownership policy that applies to all non-employee members of the Board. The purpose of the policy is to align the financial interests of our

non-employee Board members with those of our stockholders.

Both shares owned directly and shares underlying vested but unexercised stock appreciation rights ("SARs"), including stock-settled stock appreciation rights ("SSARs"), restricted stock units ("RSUs"), direct stock issuances ("DSIs") and stock options are included in the determination of whether the share ownership guidelines have been met. The total net realizable share value retained must have a current market value of not less than the lower of:

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25% of the total equity award value realized by the Board member to date in excess of $100,000; or

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three times the annual Board retainer of $80,000, or $240,000.

As of December 31, 2015, each of our non-employee members of the Board had met the requirements of our share ownership guidelines. See "Compensation Discussion and Analysis — Compensation Policies and Practices — Management Share Ownership Policy" on page 51 of this Proxy Statement for more information regarding our management share ownership policy.

We have a code of ethics that applies to our chief executive officer, chief financial officer, controller and chief accounting officer, chief legal officer, and all professionals involved in the accounting and financial reporting functions. We also have a code of conduct that applies to all of our employees, officers and the Board. The code of ethics and the code of conduct are available under the Corporate Governance section of our website, located at http://www.davita.com/about/corporate-governance. If the Company amends or waives the code of ethics or the code of conduct with respect to our chief executive officer, chief financial officer, controller or chief accounting officer, chief legal

officer, or persons performing similar functions, we will post the amendment or waiver at the same location on our website.

HCP also has a code of conduct that applies to its officers, employees, affiliated physicians, and persons serving on the board of directors of its subsidiaries, and other contracted providers, vendors and all third parties conducting business on behalf of HCP. The HCP code of conduct is available under the Corporate Governance section of our website, located at http://www.davita.com/about/corporate-governance.

We have adopted an Insider Trading Policy applicable to our directors, executive officers and employees that is intended to ensure that those individuals do not benefit financially from buying or selling shares of our common stock while in the possession of material non-public information. Under our Insider Trading Policy, pre-clearance by our chief legal officer is required for equity and 401(k) plan transactions entered into by our executives and Board members, such as an option or stock appreciation right exercise, or electing to invest in or divest shares of our common stock, as well as certain

other transactions involving our common stock. In addition, quarterly trading blackouts are imposed under the Insider Trading Policy upon our directors, executive officers and certain other employees who are deemed to have access to the Company's financial results prior to their becoming final and being publicly disclosed. The Insider Trading Policy strictly prohibits hedging transactions. Moreover, our directors, executive officers and other employees are prohibited from pledging Company securities as collateral for a loan.

The Audit Committee has appointed KPMG LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2016. Representatives of KPMG LLP are expected to attend the annual meeting in person and will be available to respond to appropriate questions and to make a statement if they so desire. If KPMG LLP should decline to act or otherwise become incapable of acting, or if KPMG LLP's engagement is discontinued for any reason, the Audit Committee will appoint another independent registered public accounting firm to serve as our independent registered public accounting firm for 2016. Although we are not required to seek stockholder ratification of this appointment, the Board believes that doing so is consistent with corporate governance best practices. If the appointment is not ratified, the Audit Committee will explore the reasons for stockholder rejection and will reconsider the appointment.

The following table sets forth the aggregate professional fees billed to us for the years ended December 31,

2015 and 2014 by KPMG LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm:

The Audit Committee is required to pre-approve the audit, audit-related, tax and all other services provided by our independent registered public accounting firm in order to assure that the provision of such services does not impair the auditor's independence. The Audit Committee's pre-approval policy provides for pre-approval of all audit, audit-related, tax and all other services provided by the independent registered public accounting firm, KPMG LLP. The Audit Committee

pre-approved all such services in 2015 and concluded that such services performed by KPMG LLP were compatible with the maintenance of that firm's independence in the conduct of its auditing functions.

The Board recommends a vote FOR the ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for fiscal year 2016.

Pursuant to Section 14A of the Exchange Act, we are providing stockholders with a vote to approve, on an advisory basis, the compensation of our named executive officers as disclosed in this Proxy Statement in accordance with SEC rules. The advisory vote on executive compensation described in this proposal is commonly referred to as a "say-on-pay vote."

The Company intends to include in its proxy statement on an annual basis an advisory vote regarding named executive officer compensation.

As disclosed in the Compensation Discussion and Analysis, the Company believes that its executive compensation program is reasonable, competitive and strongly focused on pay-for-performance principles. We design our executive officer compensation program to attract and retain outstanding leaders who possess the skills and talent necessary to achieve our business goals and objectives. Our ultimate objective is to continue to create long-term stockholder value by being a leader in clinical outcomes, generating strong overall revenue growth, market share increases, operating margin growth, increases in Medicare Advantage enrollment and consistently strong total stockholder return ("TSR"). In order to achieve this objective, we have established an executive compensation program that we believe:

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rewards superior clinical outcomes;

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rewards strong Company performance;

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aligns our executives' interests with our stockholders' interests; and

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is competitive within the health care services, diagnostics, managed care and solutions markets, so that we can attract and retain outstanding executives.

We believe that the compensation of our named executive officers during fiscal 2015 is consistent with the following achievements and financial performance for 2015:

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improved clinical outcomes in our U.S. dialysis operations, including second year in a row as leader of the Five-Star Quality Rating System created by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services;

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consolidated net revenue growth of 7.7%;

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net revenue growth of 5.2% related to our U.S. dialysis segment operations as a result of an increase in revenue per treatment of $6;

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an increase in HCP's net revenue of 9.6% related to an increase of its fee-for-service business and senior capitated revenue;

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an increase in other ancillary services and strategic initiatives net revenue of 21.3%;

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U.S. dialysis treatment growth of 4.1%;

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normalized non-acquired U.S. dialysis treatment growth of 3.9%;

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net addition of 72 U.S. dialysis centers and 27 international dialysis centers;

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strong operating cash flows of $1.557 billion, which have been reduced by approximately $304 million of after-tax payments made in connection with the settlement of the Vainer private civil suit; and

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a $1.5 billion financing to lower interest rate, extend maturities and enhance liquidity.

The Company's TSR from the first quarter of 2000 (our CEO's first full quarter with the Company) through the fourth quarter of 2015 was approximately 3,298%, putting the Company in the top 10 of all current S&P 500 companies over that period.

The Compensation Committee has developed and approved an executive compensation philosophy to provide a framework for the Company's executive compensation program featuring the following policies and practices:

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strong pay-for-performance alignment, with equity awards ranging up to 65% of our named executive officers' compensation in 2015, and with short-term cash bonuses and long-term incentive awards of cash and equity tied to the achievement of various performance metrics;

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a stock ownership policy that requires our executives to accumulate a meaningful ownership stake in the Company over time to strengthen the alignment of our named executive officers' and stockholders' interests;

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a clawback policy that permits the Board to recover bonuses, incentive and equity-based compensation from executive officers and members of the Board whose fraud or intentional misconduct was a significant contributing factor to the Company having to restate all or a portion of its financial statements; and

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equity incentive plans that prohibit repricing or replacing underwater stock options or stock appreciation rights without prior stockholder approval.

This proposal gives our stockholders the opportunity to express their views on the overall compensation of our named executive officers and the philosophy, policies and practices described in this Proxy Statement. For the reasons discussed above, we are asking our stockholders to indicate their support for our named executive officer compensation by voting FOR the following resolution at the annual meeting:

"RESOLVED, that the Company's stockholders approve, on an advisory basis, the compensation of the named executive officers, as disclosed in this Proxy Statement pursuant to the compensation disclosure rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (which disclosure includes the Compensation Discussion and Analysis, the

2015 Summary Compensation Table and the other related tables and disclosure)."

The say-on-pay vote is an advisory vote only, and therefore it will not bind the Company or the Board. However, the Board and the Compensation Committee will consider the voting results as appropriate when making future decisions regarding executive compensation, as they did following the 2015 annual meeting of stockholders.

The Board recommends a vote FOR the approval of the advisory resolution relating to the compensation of our named executive officers as disclosed in this Proxy Statement.

The Board is recommending that stockholders approve amendments to the Company's Amended and Restated Bylaws that would permit certain stockholders to include qualified stockholder-nominated director candidates in the Company's proxy materials ("proxy access"). The proposed amendments to be approved by stockholders are contained in Section 12(a), Section 12(c) and Section 13 of Article III of the Company's Amended and Restated Bylaws, a copy of which is attached to this Proxy Statement as Appendix A ("Amendments"). Additions to the Bylaws are indicated by underlining, and deletions are indicated by strikethrough text.

Introduction

Proxy access allows eligible stockholders to include their own nominees for director in the Company's proxy materials for an annual meeting of stockholders, along with the candidates nominated by the Board. A non-binding stockholder proposal submitted by the UAW Retiree Medical Trust, which requested that we adopt and present a proxy access bylaw for stockholder approval, received the support of 43% of our stockholders at the 2015 annual meeting of stockholders. Even though the stockholder proposal was supported by less than a majority of the votes cast by our stockholders, the Board moved forward with the consideration of proposed amendments to our Amended and Restated Bylaws to implement a proxy access right. In determining the terms of the proxy access right to be proposed for stockholder approval. We reached out to the holders of a majority of our outstanding shares to obtain their feedback on proxy access, and the Board considered feedback from our stockholders gathered during engagement, including in relation to the ownership threshold and duration, the limitation on the number of stockholders that can comprise a nominating group, and the maximum number of proxy access nominees. The Board believes that the proposed Amendments include requirements and provisions designed to provide meaningful rights of proxy access while reducing some risks of abuse.

Description of Proposed Amendments

The following description of the proposed Amendments is a summary only and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the complete text of the Amendments which is attached to this Proxy Statement as Appendix A. You are urged to read the Amendments in their entirety.

Eligibility of Stockholders to Nominate Directors

Any stockholder or group of up to 20 stockholders who have maintained continuous qualifying ownership of at least 3% of the shares of the Company's outstanding common stock for at least the previous three years would be permitted to include a specified number of director nominees in the Company's proxy materials for its annual meeting of stockholders.

Calculation of Qualifying Ownership

To ensure that the interests of stockholders seeking to include director nominees in the Company's proxy materials are aligned with those of other stockholders, a nominating stockholder would be deemed to own only those shares of outstanding common stock of the Company as to which the stockholder possesses both (i) the full voting and investment rights pertaining to the shares and (ii) the full economic interest in such shares, including the opportunity for profit and the risk of loss. With respect to the stockholder or any of the stockholder's affiliates, the following shares would not count as "owned" shares for purposes of the Amendments:

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shares sold in any transaction that has not been settled or closed, including any short sale;

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shares borrowed for any purposes or purchased pursuant to an agreement to resell; or

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shares subject to any option, warrant, forward contract, swap, contract of sale or other derivative or similar agreement, whether any such instrument or agreement is to be settled with shares or with cash based on the notional amount or value of outstanding shares of stock, which instrument or agreement has, or is intended to have, or if exercised by either party thereto would have, the purpose or effect of (a) reducing in any manner, to any extent or at any time in the future, the full right to vote or direct the voting of any such shares, and/or (b) hedging, offsetting or altering to any degree any gain or loss arising from the full economic ownership of such shares, other than any such arrangements solely involving a national or multi-national multi-industry market index.

A stockholder will be deemed to "own" shares held in the name of a nominee or other intermediary so long as the stockholder retains the right to instruct how the shares are voted with respect to the election of directors and the right to direct the disposition thereof and possesses the full economic interest in the shares. A stockholder's ownership of shares will be deemed to continue during any period in which the stockholder has loaned such shares or delegated any voting power over such shares by means of a proxy, power of attorney or other instrument or arrangement which in either case is revocable at any time by the stockholder; provided that in the event of a loan, the stockholder has the power to recall such loaned shares on five or less business days' notice.

Funds under common management and investment control, funds under common management and funded primarily by the same employer, and/or certain investment company families or groups, would be treated as one eligible stockholder or one member of a nominator group under certain circumstances.

Number of Stockholder-Nominated Candidates

The maximum number of candidates nominated by all eligible stockholders that the Company would be required to include in the Company's proxy materials for an annual meeting of stockholders is that number of directors constituting the greater of two or 20% of the total number of directors (rounded down to the nearest whole number) on the last day on which a nomination notice may be submitted to the Company (as described below under the section captioned "Nomination Window"). If one or more vacancies occur on the Board, or the Board decides to reduce the size of the Board in connection with the annual meeting, after the nomination deadline, the nominee limit would be calculated based on the reduced number of directors. Any stockholder-nominated candidate who is either subsequently withdrawn or included by the Board in the Company's proxy materials as a Board-nominated candidate would be counted against the nominee limit.

Procedure for Electing Candidates if Nominee Limit Exceeded

Any nominating stockholder submitting more than one stockholder nominee for inclusion in the Company's proxy materials would be required to rank such nominees based on the order that the nominating stockholder desires such nominees to be selected for inclusion in the Company's proxy materials. If the number of stockholder-nominated candidates exceeds the maximum number of stockholder nominees, the highest ranking stockholder nominee from each nominating stockholder would be selected for inclusion

in the Company's proxy materials until the nominee limit is reached, going in order of the amount (largest to smallest) of shares of stock of the Company that each nominating stockholder disclosed as owned in its respective nomination notice submitted to the Company. This selection process would continue with the next highest ranked nominees as many times as necessary, following the same order each time, until the nominee limit is reached.

Nomination Window

In order to provide adequate time to assess stockholder-nominated candidates, requests to include stockholder-nominated candidates in the Company's proxy materials must be delivered to or mailed and received at the Company's principal executive offices no earlier than 150 days and no later than 120 days before the first anniversary of the date that the Company distributed its proxy statement to stockholders for the previous year's annual meeting of stockholders.

Information Required of All Nominating Stockholders

Each stockholder seeking to include a director nominee in the Company's proxy materials would be required to provide certain information to the Company, including:

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verification of the stockholder's ownership of shares of the Company's common stock;

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an undertaking to provide immediate notice if the stockholder ceases to own the minimum number of shares prior to the date of the annual meeting;

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a copy of the stockholder's notice on Schedule 14N that has been filed with the SEC;

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the stockholder nominee's consent to being named in the Company's proxy materials and serving as a director, if elected;

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the information, questionnaire, representation and agreement required pursuant to the advance notice requirements for stockholder nominees set forth in the Company's Amended and Restated Bylaws;

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a description of communications by the nominating stockholder with any other stockholder or beneficial owner of Company securities regarding the stockholder nominee;

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a description of certain relationships that might have existed within the past three years between or among the nominating stockholder, the nominator group, the stockholder nominee and/or the Company or any of its affiliates;

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the details of any position of the stockholder nominee as an officer or director of any competitor of the Company within the three years preceding the submission of the nomination notice; and

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in the case of a nomination by a group of stockholders, the designation of one authorized group member.

Nominating stockholders would also be required to make certain representations and warranties to and agreements with the Company, including:

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no intent to change or influence control of the Company;

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not nominating any person for election to the Board other than the stockholder's nominees submitted through the proxy access process;

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not engaging and/or participating in the solicitation of support for any person other than the stockholder's nominees or Board nominees;

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not engaging in any exempt solicitation or certain communications regarding voting intentions, other than with respect to the nominating stockholder's nominees or Board nominees;

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not distributing any proxy card for the annual meeting in connection with the election of a stockholder nominee other than the form distributed by the Company;

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no violation of applicable law or stock exchange requirements as a result of the nominee's candidacy or Board membership (if elected);

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the nominee's independence and other qualifications;

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satisfaction of the eligibility requirements and intent to maintain qualifying ownership through the annual meeting date;

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compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations in connection with the nomination, solicitation and election, including filing with the SEC certain communications with stockholders relating to any director, director nominee or stockholder nominee;

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assuming liabilities related to and indemnifying the Company and its officers, directors and employees against losses arising out of the nomination or relevant communications; and

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promptly notifying the Company if certain information ceases to be true and accurate in all material respects.

Exclusion of Stockholder Nominees

The Company would not be required to include a stockholder nominee in the Company's proxy materials if:

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the Company receives a notice that a stockholder intends to nominate any candidate for election to the Board at the annual meeting pursuant to the

advance notice requirements for stockholder nominees set forth in Article III, Section 12(a) of the Company's Amended and Restated Bylaws;

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the nominating stockholder has engaged in a solicitation, exempt solicitation or other communication regarding voting intentions, other than with respect to any stockholder nominee or Board nominee;

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the nomination or election to the Board would result in the Company violating or failing to be in compliance with its Amended and Restated Bylaws or Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, any stock exchange requirements or any other applicable state or federal laws, rules or regulations;

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the nominee has been an officer or director of a competitor, as defined in Section 8 of the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914, as amended, within the past three years;

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the nominating stockholder has failed to continue to satisfy the eligibility requirements, or the nominee becomes unwilling or unable to serve on the Board; or

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any of the representations and warranties made in the nomination notice ceases to be true and accurate in all material respects, or any violation or breach occurs of any of the obligations, agreements, representations or warranties of the nominating stockholder or stockholder nominee under or pursuant to the Amendments, including, without limitation, if the nominee (a) does not qualify as independent, (b) becomes a party to an undisclosed voting commitment or compensation arrangement, or (c) is a named subject of a pending criminal proceeding (excluding traffic violations and other minor offenses) or has been convicted in such a criminal proceeding within the past ten years.

The Board or the chairman of the annual meeting would declare a director nomination by a stockholder to be defective, and such nomination would be disregarded, if (i) the director nominee or the stockholder breaches any of their respective obligations under the Amendments or (ii) the nominating stockholder does not appear at the annual meeting to present the nomination.

Supporting Statement and Other Information

A nominating stockholder would be permitted to include in the Company's proxy statement for the applicable annual meeting a 500-word statement in support of its nominee(s).

The Company would be permitted to omit, or may supplement or correct, any information or statement if such information or statement (a) is not true in all material respects, (b) impugns without factual foundation a person's or entity's character, integrity or personal reputation, or makes charges concerning improper, illegal or immoral conduct or associations without factual foundation, (c) would violate any applicable law or regulation, or (d) would impose a material risk of liability upon the Company.

The Company would be permitted to include in its proxy statement any information that the Company or the Board determines, in its discretion, to include relating to the nomination, including without limitation any statement in opposition to the nomination, information relating to any compensation arrangement and/or voting commitment, and any of the information provided to the Company pursuant to the proxy access right.

Solicitation by the Company Against Stockholder Nominees

The Company would be permitted to solicit support for its position in opposition to any stockholder nominee.

Interpretation

The Board (and any other person or body authorized by the Board, including, without limitation, the chairman of the relevant annual meeting) would have the power and authority to interpret certain of the Amendments and to make any and all determinations necessary or advisable to apply those provisions to any persons, facts or circumstances, including the power to determine the eligibility of a nominating stockholder and/or stockholder nominee, and whether any and all requirements have been satisfied.

Stockholder Approval Requirement

The affirmative vote of a majority of the shares of common stock which are present at the annual meeting or by proxy and entitled to vote thereon is required for the approval of the proposed Amendments. The proposed Amendments would become effective upon the required approval by our stockholders.

The Board recommends a vote FOR the approval of the proposed amendments to the Amended and Restated Bylaws to adopt proxy access.

General

The Board is proposing for stockholder approval the amendment and restatement (the "ESPP Amendment") of our Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the "ESPP"). If approved by stockholders, the ESPP Amendment would add an additional 7,500,000 shares of common stock to the number of shares authorized for issuance under the ESPP. The ESPP encourages ownership of our common stock by eligible employees by permitting them to purchase, subject to the terms and conditions included in the ESPP, a limited number of shares at a discount rate. The Board approved the ESPP Amendment on March 31, 2016, subject to stockholder approval.

Reason for Proposing the ESPP Amendment

Under the ESPP, 5,000,000 shares of common stock are authorized for issuance. As of March 31, 2016, eligible employees have purchased 4,577,603 shares under the ESPP and 422,397 shares remain available for purchase under the ESPP. At current participation levels, we estimate that, in the absence of an amendment to increase the number of shares of common stock authorized under the ESPP, all currently authorized shares will be purchased by June 2016. If the ESPP Amendment is approved, the number of shares available for purchase under the ESPP will be increased by 7,500,000 shares, which would be approximately 3.6% of the Company's shares outstanding as of March 31, 2016. This increase in the number of shares available for purchase under the ESPP will enable eligible employees to purchase shares under the ESPP for an additional period of time.

History of the ESPP

The ESPP was originally adopted by the Board of Directors on October 24, 1995 and was approved by stockholders on June 6, 1996. Initially, the maximum number of shares of common stock that we could issue under the ESPP was 200,000 shares. On September 26, 1997, the Board adjusted the total number of shares available for issuance under the ESPP to 333,333 shares, to reflect the payment of a dividend on our common stock of two shares for every three shares then outstanding. An amendment to increase the number of shares available for purchase under the ESPP

by 800,000 shares was adopted by the Board and was approved by stockholders on December 17, 1999. The Board approved an amendment and restatement of the ESPP, effective July 10, 2002, to change the name of the ESPP to reflect our new corporate name and to make certain other clarifying changes. On May 21, 2004, our Board adjusted the total number of shares available for issuance under the ESPP to 1,699,999 shares to reflect a three-for-two stock split of our common stock. An amendment to increase the number of shares available for purchase under the ESPP by 800,001 shares was adopted by the Board and was approved by stockholders on May 29, 2007. The Board approved an amendment on December 13, 2007, and the Company amended the ESPP pursuant to the approval by the Board on November 1, 2008, to permit the Company to distribute directly to the participant the balance of a participant's account on the date of purchase of shares if the balances exceeds the purchase price of a whole number of shares to be acquired, in lieu of applying such amount to the next purchase right period, in either case, in the discretion of the Company. On October 6, 2011, pursuant to the approval by the Compensation Committee of the Board, the ESPP was amended to provide that employees that are citizens or residents of a foreign jurisdiction (i) whose laws prohibit their participation in the ESPP, (ii) whose participation would cause the ESPP to not meet the eligibility requirements of section 423 of the Internal Revenue Code, or (iii) where the burden to the Company of complying with local tax, securities and employment law does not warrant extending participation in the ESPP in such foreign jurisdiction, who would otherwise be eligible to participate in the ESPP, may be deemed by the Compensation Committee as not eligible to participate. On August 12, 2013, our Board adjusted the total number of shares available for issuance under the ESPP to 5,000,000 shares to reflect the two-for-one stock split of our common stock.

Description of the ESPP

The following is a description of the terms of the ESPP, as proposed to be amended and restated. This description is qualified in its entirety by reference to the plan document, as proposed to be amended and restated, a copy of which is attached to this proxy statement as Appendix B and incorporated herein by reference.

Administration.    The Compensation Committee administers the ESPP. Pursuant to the ESPP, members of the Compensation Committee have the authority to interpret the ESPP and to prescribe the rules and procedures relating to the ESPP and to take all other actions necessary or appropriate in connection with the administration of the ESPP. The Company pays all costs and expenses of administering the ESPP.

Shares Subject to the ESPP.    The maximum number of shares of common stock authorized for issuance under the ESPP is 5,000,000 shares, subject to adjustment in the event of certain changes to our capital structure as described in the ESPP. As noted above, 4,577,603 shares have already been purchased by eligible employees under the ESPP and 422,397 shares remain available for purchase as of March 31, 2016. If stockholders approve the amendment to increase the number of shares available under the ESPP by 7,500,000 shares, a total of 12,500,000 shares would be authorized for issuance under the ESPP subject to adjustment in the event of certain changes to our capital structure. The shares of common stock sold under the ESPP may be authorized and unissued shares or shares reacquired by the Company.

Eligibility.    Except as described above with respect to certain employees in foreign jurisdictions, any employee of the Company or any of its authorized subsidiaries who is scheduled to work at least twenty hours per week is eligible to participate in the ESPP, provided such employee has completed at least three months of continuous employment prior to the first day of the applicable purchase right period (as described below). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the ESPP, no employee may be granted purchase rights under the ESPP if the employee would, after the grant of the purchase rights, be deemed to own 5% or more of the combined voting power or value of all classes of stock of the Company or of a subsidiary. As of March 31, 2016, we have approximately 65,700 employees and approximately 56,900 employees are eligible to participate in the ESPP.

Participation and Payroll Deductions.    Eligible employees may purchase shares of common stock under the ESPP through payroll deductions during each purchase right period with amounts accumulated during each purchase right period or by lump sum contribution by the participant at the beginning of the purchase right period. An eligible employee may enroll in the ESPP by executing prior to the commencement of each purchase right period a form provided by the Company stating the amount of the requested payroll deduction or lump sum contribution. The minimum dollar amount that may be deducted and contributed per payroll period is $10.

Once a participant has designated the amount of his or her contribution for a purchase right period, the participant cannot change the amount for such purchase right period without terminating his or her purchase right.

The amounts contributed by a participant (whether by means of payroll withholding or a lump sum advance contribution) will be deposited into a separate account maintained for the participant. No interest is paid on the amounts credited to a participant's account. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the ESPP, a participant may not accrue a right to purchase common stock under the ESPP at a rate that exceeds an aggregate fair market value of $25,000 per calendar year.

Purchase Right Periods.    Shares of common stock will be offered under the ESPP through two purchase right periods each year, from January 1 to December 31, and from July 1 to December 31. Which purchase right period will apply to a participant will depend on when a participant elects to start making contributions for the year. Participating employees are required to elect how much they will contribute toward their purchase rights prior to the start of the purchase right period.

Exercise of Purchase Rights.    Unless earlier terminated, purchase rights will be exercised automatically on the last day of each purchase right period. Funds held in a participant's account on the last day of the purchase right period will be used to purchase shares of common stock for the participant. Shares purchased at the end of a purchase right period will be credited to electronic share accounts established for each participant at a broker designated by the Compensation Committee. The shares will be held in such accounts until the holding period set forth in section 423(a) of the Internal Revenue Code has been satisfied. After the expiration of the holding period required by section 423(a) of the Internal Revenue Code, which is two years after the first day of the purchase right period, or one year after the last day of the purchase right period, whichever is later, participants may move the shares to other brokers of their choice or have the shares transferred to them.

Purchase Right Price.    The price at which a participating employee will purchase each share covered by a purchase right will be the lesser of (i) 100% of the fair market value of a share of common stock on the first day of the applicable purchase right period, or (ii) 85% of the fair market value of a share of common stock on the last day of that purchase right period. The fair market value of a share of common stock on any relevant date under the ESPP will be the last reported sale price of our common stock on the

NYSE on the particular day, or if the NYSE is closed on a particular day, then the last reported sale price for the preceding day. On March 31, 2016, the fair market value per share of our common stock was $73.38. Purchases are subject to the aggregate limitation on the number of shares that are available under the ESPP and the ESPP limitations applicable to individual participants.

Termination of Purchase Rights.    A participant may elect to terminate his or her purchase right at any time prior to the last day of the purchase right period. To do so, the participant must complete the form provided by the Company for this purpose, and submit it to our people services department. A participant's purchase right will terminate automatically if the participant ceases to be our employee for any reason (including death, disability or retirement) prior to the last day of the purchase right period. A transfer of employment or service between the Company and a subsidiary or between different subsidiaries is not considered a termination for purposes of the ESPP. Furthermore, an approved leave of absence is not treated as termination of employment for this purpose if it does not exceed 90 days (unless the participant's rights to reemployment are guaranteed by statute or contract). Upon the termination of a participant's purchase right, all amounts held in a participant's account will be refunded to the participant.

Termination Events.    Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the ESPP, all purchase rights shall be automatically exercised immediately preceding (i) a transaction in which the Company will cease to be an independent publicly-owned corporation, (ii) a sale or other disposition of all or substantially all the assets of the Company, or (iii) a termination of the ESPP. In the case of a termination event described in (i) or (ii) above, the fair market value of our common stock on the last day of the purchase right period will be deemed to be equal to the per share consideration received in the transaction by the holders of the common stock.

Adjustment Upon Changes in Capitalization.    If the outstanding shares of our common stock are increased, decreased, or exchanged for different securities through a reorganization, merger, consolidation, recapitalization, reclassification, stock split, reverse stock dividend, or other similar transaction, a proportionate adjustment will be made by the Compensation Committee to (i) the number, price, and kind of shares subject to outstanding purchase rights, and (ii) the maximum number and kind of shares that are available for issuance under the ESPP.

Proration of Purchase Rights.    If the total number of shares of common stock to be purchased pursuant to outstanding purchase rights on any particular date

exceeds the number of shares then available for issuance under the ESPP, then (i) the Compensation Committee will make a pro-rata allocation of the available shares on a uniform and nondiscriminatory basis; and (ii) the payroll deductions of each participant, to the extent in excess of the aggregate purchase price payable for the common stock pro-rated to such individual, will be refunded to the participant.

Nontransferability.    A participant's rights under the ESPP are not transferable.

Indemnification of the Board.    To the maximum extent permitted by law and subject to certain exceptions, we will indemnify each member of the Board and any other employee with duties under the ESPP against expenses (including any amount paid in settlement or in satisfaction of a judgment) reasonably incurred by the individual in connection with any claims against the individual by reason of the performance of the individual's duties under the ESPP.

Amendment and Termination of the ESPP.    The Board may terminate or amend the ESPP at any time. However, the Board may not, without the approval of our stockholders, adopt any amendment that relates to (i) the class of individuals eligible to participate in the ESPP, or (ii) the aggregate number of shares to be granted under the ESPP.

Federal Income Tax Consequences

The following is a brief summary of the United States federal income tax consequences under the ESPP.

The ESPP is intended to qualify as an "Employee Stock Purchase Plan" within the meaning of section 423 of the Internal Revenue Code. Under section 423, an eligible employee who elects to participate in the ESPP will not realize any taxable income at the time common stock is purchased under the ESPP for such eligible employee.

If a participant disposes of common stock purchased under the ESPP two years or more after the date the purchase right is exercised, which is the last day of the purchase right period, a participant will recognize long-term capital gain or loss. The Company will not be entitled to any deduction with respect to a disposition of common stock occurring under the circumstances described in this paragraph.

If a participant disposes of common stock purchased under the ESPP within two years after the date the purchase right is exercised, the participant will recognize ordinary income, and the Company will be entitled to a corresponding deduction, in an amount equal to the excess of the fair market value of the common stock on the last day of the purchase right period over the purchase price of the common stock under the ESPP. The participant's cost basis in the common stock will be increased by the amount of the ordinary income recognized by the participant. In addition, upon the disposition of the common stock, a participant will recognize capital gain or loss equal to the difference between the price at which the common stock is disposed of and the cost basis in the common stock, as so increased. The Company will not be entitled to any deduction with respect to the amount recognized by the participant as capital gain.

The affirmative vote of a majority of the shares of common stock present at the 2016 annual meeting, in person or by proxy and entitled to vote thereon, is required for the approval of the proposed amendment and restatement of our ESPP, including an increase in the number of shares of common stock available for issuance under the ESPP, and total votes cast on this proposal must represent over 50% of all outstanding shares.

The Board recommends a vote FOR the approval of the proposed amendment to our ESPP to increase the number of shares of common stock available for issuance under the ESPP by 7,500,000 shares.

We expect the following proposal, sponsored by James McRitchie and Myra K. Young, 9295 Yorkship Court, Elk Grove, California 95758, and holders of 100 shares of the Company's common stock, to be presented at the annual meeting. The Board has recommended a vote AGAINST this proposal for the reasons set forth following the proposal. The Board disclaims any responsibility for the content of the proposal and the supporting statement, which are presented exactly in the form received by the Company.

Stockholder Proposal and Supporting Statement

Proposal 6 — Right to Act by Written Consent

Resolved, Shareholders request that our board of directors undertake such steps as may be necessary to permit written consent by shareholders entitled to cast the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize the action at a meeting at which all shareholders entitled to vote thereon were present and voting. This written consent is to be consistent with applicable law and consistent with giving shareholders

the fullest power to act by written consent consistent with applicable law. This includes shareholder ability to initiate any topic for written consent consistent with applicable law.

This proposal topic won majority shareholder support at 13 major companies in a single year. This included 67% — support at both Allstate and Sprint. Hundreds of major companies enable shareholder action by written consent.

Taking action by written consent in lieu of a meeting is a means shareholders can use to raise important matters outside the normal annual meeting cycle. A shareholder right to act by written consent and to call a special meeting are 2 complimentary ways to bring an important matter to the attention of both management and shareholders outside the annual meeting cycle. Taking action by written consent saves the expense of holding a special shareholder meeting.

Please vote to enhance shareholder value:

Right to Act by Written Consent — Proposal 6

The Company's Statement in Opposition to Proposal 6

The Board recommends you vote AGAINST the proposal.

We have a track record of strong corporate governance.    We have had a long-standing commitment to sound corporate governance practices, and have a number of corporate governance policies and practices that enhance the accountability of the Board of Directors to our stockholders, including:

•

Our stockholders' right to call special meetings at a 10% threshold;

•

A majority vote standard in uncontested director elections;

•

No non-stockholder-approved pill;

•

Annual election of all directors (no "staggered board" or "classified board"); and

•

Simple majority vote for amendment of Bylaws.

We continue to be committed to good corporate citizenship and accountability to our stockholders. Our continual process of evaluating and making appropriate changes as needed to our corporate governance structure underscores our commitment to sound corporate governance and, we believe, enhances stockholder value. Last year, although proxy access received only 43% support from our stockholders, the Board of Directors proceeded, nonetheless, to consider amendments to our Bylaws to implement proxy access. We reached out to the holders of a majority of our outstanding shares to obtain their feedback on proxy access and, based on feedback gathered during the engagement, we are proposing amendments to our Bylaws which we believe provide meaningful rights of proxy access while reducing risks of abuse. In short, we continually evaluate our business, stockholder feedback, the competitive landscape and developments in corporate governance and implement appropriate changes to our corporate governance policies and practices when they appear to be in the best interests of our stockholders and our business.

The proposal is unnecessary given that our stockholders already have the right to call special meetings.    Our stockholders already have the ability "to raise important matters outside the normal annual meeting cycle." Our bylaws were amended in 2011 to allow stockholders holding 10% or more of our outstanding common stock to call a special meeting to propose, debate and vote on matters outside the normal annual meeting cycle.

Notably, our 10% threshold for calling a special meeting is lower than the threshold at many S&P 500 companies and is substantially lower than the majority threshold that would be required to take action by written consent under this proposal.

Addressing matters that are significant to the Company at a meeting of the stockholders, rather than through the consent solicitation process, ensures that information about proposed stockholder actions will be disseminated to all stockholders and allows for the transparent, public, orderly and deliberate consideration of issues facing the Company.    Acting on matters at a meeting of stockholders is more democratic and transparent than doing so by written consent. Requiring action to be taken at a stockholder meeting allows all stockholders to express their views openly, rather than allowing a subset of the stockholder constituency to take action without the knowledge or participation by the rest of the Company's stockholders and impose the results of that action on other stockholders. The special meeting process that is already available to the Company's stockholders provides a more meaningful opportunity for all stockholders to be involved in our corporate governance and, specifically, to receive notice of and participate in actions taken on behalf of the company's stockholders. On the contrary, action by written consent would permit a group of stockholders to initiate action without any notice and opportunity for other stockholders to review, analyze and formulate an opinion on the issue(s) being raised for vote by written consent. Action by written consent could also lead to hasty decision-making and could be costly and disruptive for the Company because it forecloses the opportunity for stockholders to have a robust, open and real time consideration and deliberation. Different stockholders could act on different matters by written consent for any purpose, at any time, and as often as they wish, causing significant disruption and confusion. This could lead to a chaotic and potentially coercive state of corporate affairs rather than the orderly and democratic stockholder meeting process currently in place.

The affirmative vote of a majority of the shares of common stock present at the annual meeting, in person or by proxy and entitled to vote thereon, is required for the approval of this proposal.

For all of the foregoing reasons, the Board recommends that you vote AGAINST this proposal.

*

Amount represents less than 1% of our common stock.

1

Unless otherwise set forth in the footnotes below, the address of each beneficial owner is 2000 16th Street, Denver, Colorado, 80202.

2

Based solely on information contained in Amendment No. 4 to Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 17, 2015, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., a diversified holding company which Mr. Buffett may be deemed to control. Mr. Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. share voting and dispositive power over 38,565,570 shares of the Company's common stock, which include shares beneficially owned by certain subsidiaries of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. as a result of being a parent holding company or control person.

3

Based solely upon information contained in Amendment No. 5 to Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 10, 2016, The Vanguard Group, Inc., an investment adviser, has sole voting power with respect to 308,622 shares, shared voting power with respect to 16,700 shares, sole dispositive power with respect to 14,047,851 shares and shared dispositive power with respect to 332,928 shares.

4

Based solely upon information contained in Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on January 28, 2016, BlackRock, Inc., an investment advisor, has sole voting power with respect to 10,691,404 shares and sole dispositive power with respect to 12,297,950 shares.

5

Includes 458,994 shares held in a family trust and 1,450,000 shares issuable upon the exercise of SSARs and 72,064 restricted stock units, which are exercisable as of, or will become exercisable within 60 days after, March 31, 2016.

6

Includes 549,167 shares issuable upon the exercise of SSARs and 36,466 restricted stock units, which are exercisable as of, or will become exercisable within 60 days after, March 31, 2016.

7

Includes 130,600 shares issuable upon the exercise of SSARs and 4,934 restricted stock units, which are exercisable as of, or will become exercisable within 60 days after, March 31, 2016.

8

Includes 84,350 shares held in trust and 472,500 shares issuable upon the exercise of SSARs and 36,466 restricted stock units, which are exercisable as of, or will become exercisable within 60 days after, March 31, 2016.

9

Includes 47,000 shares issuable upon the exercise of SSARs and 3,983 restricted stock units, which are exercisable as of, or will become exercisable within 60 days after, March 31, 2016.

10

Includes 77,414 shares issuable upon the exercise of SSARs, which are exercisable as of, or will become exercisable within 60 days after, March 31, 2016.

11

Includes 14,095 shares held in trust and 53,414 shares issuable upon the exercise of SSARs, which are exercisable as of, or will become exercisable within 60 days after, March 31, 2016.

12

Includes 41,414 shares issuable upon the exercise of SSARs, which are exercisable as of, or will become exercisable within 60 days after, March 31, 2016.

13

Includes 5,414 shares issuable upon the exercise of SSARs, which are exercisable as of, or will become exercisable within 60 days after, March 31, 2016.

14

Includes 115,908 shares issuable upon the exercise of SSARs, which are exercisable as of, or will become exercisable within 60 days after, March 31, 2016.

15

Includes 72,379 shares in trust and 113,414 shares issuable upon the exercise of SSARs, which are exercisable as of, or will become exercisable within 60 days after, March 31, 2016.

16

Includes 77,414 shares issuable upon the exercise of SSARs, which are exercisable as of, or will become exercisable within 60 days after, March 31, 2016.

17

Includes 83,414 shares issuable upon the exercise of SSARs, which are exercisable as of, or will become exercisable within 60 days after, March 31, 2016.

18

Includes 3,284,585 shares issuable upon the exercise of SSARs and 154,451 restricted stock units, which are exercisable as of, or will become exercisable within 60 days after, March 31, 2016.

Our executive officers are appointed by, and serve at the discretion of, the Board. Set forth below is a brief description as of March 31, 2016 of the business experience of all executive officers other than Mr. Thiry, who is also a director and whose business experience is set forth above in the section of this Proxy Statement entitled "Information Concerning Members of the Board Standing for Election."

Javier J. Rodriguez became our chief executive officer, Kidney Care in March 2014. Since joining the Company in 1998, Mr. Rodriguez has served in a number of different capacities. From February 2012 to March 2014, he served as our president. From April 1, 2006 through February 2012, he served as our senior vice president. Before that, from 2000 to 2006 he served as a vice president of operations and payor contracting. Mr. Rodriguez joined the Company in 1998 as a director of value management. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Rodriguez worked for Baxter Healthcare Corporation in Finance from 1995 to 1996. He also previously served as director of operations for CBS Marketing Inc. in Mexico City.

Michael D. Staffieri became our chief operating officer, Kidney Care, in March 2014. From July 2011 to February 2014, he served as a senior vice president, Kidney Care. From March 2008 to July 2011, he served as our vice president of operations and new center development. Mr. Staffieri joined the Company in July 2000 and has served in several different roles. Prior to joining us, Mr. Staffieri worked for Arthur Andersen LLP in Finance from 1999 to 2000.

Dennis L. Kogod became our president, HealthCare Partners, and our chief executive officer, International, effective January 2015. From March 2014 through December 2014, he served as chief operating officer of our HealthCare Partners division. From January 2009 to March 2014, he served as our chief operating officer, and prior to that, he served as our president-west beginning in October 2005. From January 2004 until joining us, Mr. Kogod served as president and chief operating officer-west of Gambro Healthcare, Inc., which we acquired in October 2005. From July 2000 to January 2004, Mr. Kogod served as president, west division of Gambro Healthcare, Inc. From June 1999 to July 2000, Mr. Kogod was president of Teleflex Medical Group, a medical original equipment manufacturer of medical delivery systems. From January 1996 to June 1999, Mr. Kogod was corporate vice president of Teleflex Surgical Group, a surgical device and service organization. Mr. Kogod previously served on the board of Arbios Systems, Inc., a medical device and cell-based therapy company.

Joseph C. Mello became our chief operating officer, HealthCare Partners, in January 2015. From April 2012 to April 2014, Mr. Mello served on the Board of CapitalSource Inc., a commercial lender, Mr. Mello previously served as our chief operating officer — emeritus from January 2009 to December 2012, and chief operating officer from June 2000 to December 2008. From April 1998 to June 2000, Mr. Mello served as president and chief executive officer of Vivra Asthma & Allergy. From August 1994 to April 1998, Mr. Mello held various positions with MedPartners, Inc.,

including senior vice president/chief operating officer-southeastern region from March 1997 to April 1998. Prior to joining MedPartners, from 1984 to 1994, Mr. Mello was associated with KPMG LLP, where he became a partner in 1989.

James K. Hilger became our interim chief financial officer in March 2015, a position he previously held from April 2012 until November 2013. Mr. Hilger continues to serve as our chief accounting officer, a position he has held since April 2010. Prior to April 2010, Mr. Hilger served as our vice president and controller since May 2006, after having served as our vice president, finance beginning in September 2005. Mr. Hilger was our acting chief financial officer from November 2007 through February 2008. From September 2003 to September 2005, Mr. Hilger served as vice president, finance and administration and chief financial officer of Pyramid Breweries, a brewer of specialty beverages. From December 1998 to July 2003, Mr. Hilger served as chief executive officer and chief financial officer of WorldCatch, Inc., a seafood industry company. From 1987 until joining WorldCatch, Inc., Mr. Hilger held a variety of senior financial positions in the food industry. Mr. Hilger began his career in public accounting with Ernst & Whinney.

Kathleen A. Waters joined the Company in April 2016 as Chief Legal Officer. Prior to joining the Company, Ms. Waters was senior vice president, general counsel and secretary of Health Net, Inc., a publicly traded managed care organization from April 2015 to March 2016. She was a partner in Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP's litigation practice from 2003 to 2015. She also was the leader of that firm's Los Angeles litigation group and co-leader of the healthcare group. Before that, Ms. Waters was a partner at Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison LLP in Los Angeles.

Jeanine M. Jiganti became our chief compliance officer in March 2013. From July 2012 to March 2013, she

served as our vice president, international chief compliance officer and deputy chief compliance officer. Prior to joining us, she served as chief compliance officer for Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, a subsidiary of a Japanese pharmaceutical company, from October 2005 to March 2012. Additionally, she served as chief compliance officer for several of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited's affiliates including Takeda Global Research and Development and Takeda Pharmaceuticals International Operations. During Ms. Jiganti's career, she has served as general counsel for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity from September 2003 to September 2005, general counsel of Near North Insurance Company from September 2002 to September 2003 and vice president of litigation at Caremark Inc., a pharmaceutical services company, from 1996 to 2002.

LeAnne M. Zumwalt became our group vice president-purchasing and public affairs in July 2011. From January 2000 to July 2011, Ms. Zumwalt served as our vice president in many capacities. From January 2000 to October 2009, she served as our vice president, investor relations while having other responsibilities. From 1997 to 1999, Ms. Zumwalt served as chief financial officer of Vivra Specialty Partners, Inc. a privately held health care service and technology firm. From 1991 to 1997, Ms. Zumwalt held various executive positions, including chief financial officer, at Vivra Incorporated, a publicly held provider of dialysis services. Prior to joining Vivra Incorporated, Ms. Zumwalt was a senior manager at Ernst & Young, LLP. Ms. Zumwalt serves on the board of The Advisory Board Company.

None of the executive officers has any family relationship with any other executive officer or with any of our directors.

Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires "insiders," including our executive officers, directors and beneficial owners of more than 10% of our common stock, to file reports of ownership and changes in ownership of our common stock with the SEC and the NYSE, and to furnish us with copies of all Section 16(a) forms they

file. Based solely on our review of the copies of such forms received by us, or written representations from reporting persons, we believe that our insiders complied with all applicable Section 16(a) filing requirements during 2015.

1

Dr. Menzel served as the Company's Chief Financial Officer from November 7, 2013 to March 30, 2015.

Our Business

The Company consists of two major divisions, Kidney Care and HealthCare Partners (HCP). Our Kidney Care division is comprised of our U.S. dialysis and related lab services, our ancillary services and strategic initiatives, including our international operations, and our corporate administrative support.

Our largest line of business is our U.S. dialysis and related lab services business, which is a leading provider of kidney dialysis services in the United States. As of December 31, 2015, we operated or provided administrative services through a network of 2,251 outpatient dialysis centers in the U.S., serving a total of approximately 180,000 patients in 46 states and the District of Columbia. We also provide acute inpatient dialysis services in approximately 900 hospitals. In 2015, our overall network of U.S. outpatient dialysis centers increased by 72 centers primarily as a result of opening new centers and acquisitions. In addition, the overall number of patients that we serve in the U.S. increased by approximately 4.1% from 2014.

Our other major line of business is HCP, a patient-and physician-focused integrated health care delivery and management company with over two decades of experience providing coordinated, outcomes-based

medical care in a cost-effective manner. Through capitation contracts with some of the nation's leading health plans, HCP had approximately 807,400 members under its care in southern California, Colorado, central and south Florida, southern Nevada, central New Mexico and central Arizona as of December 31, 2015. In addition to its managed care business, HCP provides care in all of its markets to over 612,200 patients whose health coverage is structured on a fee-for-service basis, including patients enrolled through traditional Medicare and Medicaid programs, preferred provider organizations and other third party payors.

The HCP patients as well as the patients of HCP's associated physicians, physician groups and independent practice associations benefit from an integrated approach to medical care that places the physician at the center of patient care. As of December 31, 2015, HCP delivered services to its members via a network of 547 associated group full-time primary care physicians, over 2,900 associated group and other network primary care physicians, 240 network hospitals, and several thousand associated group and network specialists. Together with hundreds of case managers, registered nurses and other care coordinators, these medical professionals utilize a comprehensive information technology system, sophisticated risk

management techniques and clinical protocols to provide high-quality, cost-effective care to HCP's members.

Our executive compensation program is best understood within the context of the business environment in which we currently operate. This includes increasing regulation by numerous federal, state and local government entities, reductions in reimbursements under federal and state healthcare programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, continued downward pressure on our commercial payment rates, and the continued integration of HCP into the enterprise.

Our Executive Compensation Structure

Our executive compensation program is designed to align our executive compensation structure with our strategic and financial objectives in creating stockholder value. Our executive compensation structure is comprised of both short- and long-term incentives, which include challenging performance goals that we believe are aligned with our strategic objectives to provide high quality care to our patients, increase profitability, maximize growth and increase stockholder value.

The 2015 short- and long-term criteria, described in further detail starting on page 40, emphasized our objectives as a Company, and our resulting compensation structure incorporated incentives tied to clinical care, profit and growth.

We will continue our ongoing engagement with our stockholders on corporate governance issues that are of interest to them or that our Board might be evaluating. The Compensation Committee will consider the feedback we receive from our stockholders in making future compensation decisions for our NEOs. We also believe it is important to maintain consistency with our compensation philosophy and approach, described in further detail below in the section entitled "Our Compensation Design and Philosophy," to continue to incentivize management toward short and long-term financial and operating goals, which are intended to create long-term stockholder value.

Consideration of Say-on-Pay Results and Pay for Performance

In June 2015, approximately 96% of the votes cast by stockholders at the annual meeting were voted in favor of the compensation program applicable to our NEOs, as described in the 2015 proxy statement. We believe the votes reflect support for our executive compensation

program, particularly the scope and effectiveness of the changes we initially adopted in March 2014, and strong pay for performance alignment. We reached out to our largest institutional stockholders in late 2015 to discuss our existing compensation structure. During these discussions, stockholders expressed general satisfaction with our executive compensation program, and emphasized continued pay-for-performance. While we did not modify our executive compensation program in response to the prior year say-on-pay vote, based on the feedback we received from our stockholders, we refined our short-term incentive and long-term incentive programs to tailor the programs to each NEO by adding performance measures reflective of the particular NEO's business division.

Our Compensation Design and Philosophy

Our ability to recruit and retain highly qualified executives is essential to our long-term success. An important goal in the design of our executive compensation program, in addition to clinical differentiation and creating stockholder value, is to attract and retain outstanding leaders who possess the skills and talent necessary to achieve our business goals and objectives, and who embody our mission and values. We believe it is in the best interests of our stockholders to attract and retain talented leaders, and we strive to do so by providing compensation that we believe is reasonable, provides the best value for our stockholders, aligns incentives, and is sufficient to achieve our recruitment and retention objectives.

Our ultimate objective is to continue to create long-term stockholder value by being a leader in clinical differentiation, generating strong overall revenue growth, increasing market share, improving clinical outcomes, growing operating margins, increasing Medicare Advantage enrollment, and delivering consistently strong total stockholder return.

In order to achieve this objective, we have established an executive compensation program that we believe:

(i)

rewards superior clinical outcomes;



(ii)

rewards strong Company performance;



(iii)

aligns our executives' interests with our stockholders' interests; and



(iv)

is competitive within the health care services, diagnostics, managed care and solutions markets so that we can attract and retain outstanding executives.