A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS TO THE NATIONAL KIDNEY FOUNDATION FOR A DEMONSTRATION PROJECT ON CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE.
Whereas, late stage chronic kidney disease (CKD) cost the North Carolina Medical Assistance Program over four hundred million dollars ($400,000,000) in State funds in the 2006‑2007 fiscal year; and
Whereas, CKD in its earlier, more treatable and detectable stages has not been fully defined; and
Whereas, there is currently no published data estimating the prevalence of CKD in North Carolina; and
Whereas, initial estimates based on aggregate data indicated that as many as 900,000 North Carolinians may have earlier stage CKD; and
Whereas, if undetected, those cases will progress to a later stage and thus increase significantly the cost to the State Medical Assistance Program; Now, therefore,
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the National Kidney Foundation of North Carolina the sum of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) for the 2007‑2008 fiscal year.  These funds shall be used to purchase medical claims data to report the prevalence of chronic kidney disease among persons 65 years of age and older in North Carolina,  to conduct a demonstration project to test the effectiveness of Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR) lab values, and to educate physicians and patients about chronic kidney disease.  The demonstration project shall be conducted in four sites in the State that are interested in piloting the GFR initiative.  The National Kidney Foundation of North Carolina shall report the results of the demonstration project to the House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services, the Senate Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services, the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health,  and the Fiscal Research Division not later than May 1, 2008.
SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2007.