Pennsylvania SR 299: A Resolution designating May 14, 2026, as "IgAN Awareness Day" in Pennsylvania.

Bill Text

PRINTER'S NO. 1655
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No. 299
Session of
2026
INTRODUCED BY VOGEL, STREET, TARTAGLIONE, MARTIN, HAYWOOD,
PHILLIPS-HILL, CAPPELLETTI, COSTA AND HUGHES, APRIL 29, 2026
REFERRED TO RULES AND EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS, APRIL 29, 2026
A RESOLUTION
Designating May 14, 2026, as "IgAN Awareness Day" in
Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, More than 1 in 7 American adults are estimated to
have chronic kidney disease (CKD), yet as many as 9 in 10
American adults with CKD do not know they have it; and
WHEREAS, While the two most common causes of kidney disease
are hypertension and heart disease, the third leading cause of
kidney disease is glomerulonephritis, often caused by rare,
immune-mediated kidney diseases such as immunoglobulin A
nephropathy (IgAN); and
WHEREAS, Patients with glomerular diseases frequently advance
to more costly and more debilitating later stages of kidney
disease, including end-stage renal disease (ESRD), more quickly
than patients with CKD in general, with estimates suggesting
that rare kidney diseases make up 5% to 10% of CKD patients but
account for approximately 25% of patients receiving treatment
for kidney failure; and
WHEREAS, Patients often face delays in being diagnosed with
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IgAN and other immune-mediated kidney diseases, owing to the
difficulty of the rare disease diagnostic odyssey, the limited
number of nephrology providers and lack of awareness about the
causes of kidney disease; and
WHEREAS, IgAN is twice as likely to appear in men as women,
can occur at any age but most likely strikes people in their 20s
and 30s and is more common in Caucasians and Asians; and
WHEREAS, Kidney disease, including IgAN, presents a
significant burden not only on the health and lives of patients
and their families, but also incurs great challenges for the
health care system and health care costs of this Commonwealth,
with estimates suggesting that patients with IgAN-attributed
ESRD have health costs exceeding $63,000 a year; and
WHEREAS, While the Federal Medicare program covers the costs
of dialysis for many patients with ESRD, 45% of ESRD patients
are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, and ESRD is a
significant source of disability, with ESRD patients employed at
only one-fifth the rate of the general population; and
WHEREAS, Kidney disease patients are entering a new era of
hope, including for rare diseases, with multiple drugs now
approved by the Food and Drug Administration to slow the
progression of CKD and multiple drugs approved to slow the
progression of IgAN specifically, including innovative
immunology-based therapies, and more clinical trials are
underway for such products; and
WHEREAS, There is growing recognition that early
identification of kidney disease and rare kidney diseases,
including through broader screening of patients with low-cost
serum creatinine blood tests and urine albuminuria creatinine
ratio tests, can slow the progression of kidney disease and
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prevent or delay ESRD, including in patients with immune-
mediated kidney diseases; and
WHEREAS, "IgAN Awareness Day" is designed to increase
awareness among patients, providers and policymakers of kidney
disease and glomerular diseases, and IgAN in particular, to
support efforts to improve policies that may increase access to
screening, diagnosis and treatment for kidney disease and to
provide hope and inspiration to patients, caregivers and
advocates working tirelessly to advance awareness and better
care for kidney disease; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate designate May 14, 2026, as "IgAN
Awareness Day" in Pennsylvania.
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