§9-5-20. Medicaid program; chronic kidney disease; evaluation and classification.

(a) Any enrollee in Medicaid who is eligible for services and who has a diagnosis of diabetes or hypertension or, who has a family history of kidney disease, shall receive coverage for an evaluation for chronic kidney disease through routine clinical laboratory assessments of kidney function.

(b) Any enrollee in Medicaid who is eligible for services and who has been diagnosed with diabetes or hypertension or who has a family history of kidney disease and who has received a diagnosis of kidney disease shall be classified as a chronic kidney patient.

(c) The diagnostic criteria used to define chronic kidney disease should be those generally recognized through clinical practice guidelines which identify chronic kidney disease or its complications based on the presence of kidney damage and level of kidney function.

(d) Medicaid providers shall be educated by the Bureau for Public Health in an effort to increase the rate of evaluation and treatment for chronic kidney disease. Providers should be made aware of:

(i) Managing risk factors, which prolong kidney function or delay progression to kidney replacement therapy;

(ii) Managing risk factors for bone disease and cardiovascular disease associated with chronic kidney disease;

(iii) Improving nutritional status of chronic kidney disease patients; and

(iv) Correcting anemia associated with chronic kidney disease.