New Era of Preventing End-Stage Kidney Disease Act
Key claim: The New Era of Preventing End-Stage Kidney Disease Act (HR1518) would fund regional centers of excellence, postgraduate fellowships, and expanded primary-care training on rare kidney disease, and require HHS studies aimed at improving diagnosis and treatment and reducing progression to dialysis or transplant.
Abstract
(HR1518 · 119th Congress) New Era of Preventing End-Stage Kidney Disease Act This bill establishes regional centers of excellence, postgraduate fellowships, and training for health professionals relating to the diagnosis and treatment of rare kidney disease. It also requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to conduct various studies on rare kidney disease. Specifically, it authorizes the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to award funding to public and private nonprofit entities for establishing regional centers of excellence that will increase public awareness, conduct research, and develop resources for diagnosing and treating rare kidney diseases. A center may receive such funding for up to five years, unless extended by the institute. The bill also requires health professions schools receiving a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Centers of Excellence program to award fellowships for training on preventing, diagnosing, and treating rare kidney disease in disproportionately impacted populations. Also, the bill expands the priorities of HRSA’s Primary Care Training and Enhancement program to include training for health care workers to care for individuals with kidney disease. Additionally, HHS must conduct several studies and report to Congress on topics such as treating rare kidney disease in disproportionately affected populations, eliminating the need for dialysis or kidney transplants, and increasing public awareness of rare kidney disease. Latest action (2025-02-24): Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Why this matters
For the education area, HR1518 is notable as a federal capacity-building measure that channels HRSA fellowship funding and primary-care training resources into a specific disease domain, expanding the model of specialty-targeted workforce pipelines. It affects postgraduate trainees and primary-care educators by creating new fellowship slots and curricular expectations, and it positions academic medical centers as hosts for NIDDK-designated regional centers of excellence.