[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2294 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2294

 To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to help prevent osteoporosis.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 22, 1999

 Ms. Berkley (for herself, Mrs. Roukema, Ms. DeLauro, Mrs. Maloney of 
New York, Mr. Matsui, Mr. Hoyer, Mr. Frost, Mr. Borski, Ms. Eshoo, Ms. 
Millender-McDonald, Mrs. Capps, Ms. Woolsey, Mrs. Thurman, Mr. Hastings 
  of Florida, Mr. Rush, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Clyburn, Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. 
    Sanders, Mrs. Tauscher, Mr. Costello, Mr. Wynn, Ms. Norton, Ms. 
   Sanchez, Ms. Stabenow, Ms. Carson, Ms. McCarthy of Missouri, Mr. 
McNulty, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Shows, Mr. Weiner, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Udall 
 of Colorado, Mr. Capuano, Mrs. Napolitano, Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas, 
Mr. Hilliard, Mr. Serrano, Mr. Sandlin, Mr. Neal of Massachusetts, and 
    Mr. Moran of Virginia) introduced the following bill; which was 
        referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to help prevent osteoporosis.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Osteoporosis Education and 
Prevention Act of 1999''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Osteoporosis is a major public health problem affecting 
        28 million Americans, including 10 million who already have the 
        disease and 18 million more who have low bone mass placing them 
        at risk for fractures.
            (2) Although there is currently no cure for osteoporosis, 
        it is preventable in most cases, if proper steps are taken to 
        preserve bone mass as a person ages.
            (3) Osteoporosis is a silent disease that often is not 
        discovered until a fracture occurs. One out of two women and 
        one out of eight men over age 50 will have an osteoporosis-
        related fracture in their lifetimes.
            (4) While both men and women may develop osteoporosis, 80 
        percent are women. Most adult women are not aware of their 
        personal risk factors for osteoporosis. A woman's risk of hip 
        fracture is equal to her combined risk of breast, uterine, and 
        ovarian cancer.
            (5) Although 90 percent of fractures in women 65 years of 
        age and older are osteoporosis-related, most women presenting 
        with fractures are not assessed for osteoporosis.
            (6) The estimated nationwide medical cost directly 
        attributable to osteoporosis-related treatment is more than 
        $13.8 billion annually, or $38 million each day, and the cost 
        is rising. Much of this cost might be avoidable with proper 
        education about prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of 
        osteoporosis. Currently, only 25 states have osteoporosis 
        programs to educate the public about osteoporosis.

SEC. 3. AMENDMENT OF OLDER AMERICANS ACT OF 1965.

    (a) Inclusion of Osteoporosis Program in Area Plan.--Section 
306(a)(6) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (R)(iii), by striking ``and'';
            (2) in subparagraph (S), by adding at the end ``and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(T) coordinate education relating to osteoporosis 
                prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, and in States or 
                localities which have implemented an osteoporosis 
                education program, cooperate with the agency having 
                charge over such program; and''.
    (b) Definition.--Section 363 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``osteoporosis,'' after 
        ``diabetes,''; and
            (2) in paragraph (3), by inserting ``, including counseling 
        and services relating to prevention, diagnosis, and treatment 
        of osteoporosis'' before the semicolon.
    (c) Osteoporosis Prevention Demonstration Program.--Section 422(b) 
of the Older Americans Act of 1965 is amended:
            (1) in paragraph (12)(C), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (2) by inserting at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(13)(A) determine the best practices for providing 
        information and outreach services (including programs and 
        information, such as forums, seminars, and large-print, easy-
        to-understand, and multilingual literature) relating to 
        prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of osteoporosis; and
            ``(B) measure the effectiveness of an osteoporosis 
        prevention program over a three-year period, as shown by an 
        increase in the percentages of individuals who have 
        demonstrated expanded awareness and knowledge of osteoporosis 
        (including knowledge of personal risk factors).''.
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