[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2616 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2616

To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish an Office of Men's 
                                Health.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 12, 2002

 Mr. Thurmond introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish an Office of Men's 
                                Health.

    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 ``Men's Health Act of 2002''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) A silent health crisis is affecting the health and 
        well-being of America's men.
            (2) While this health crisis is of particular concern to 
        men, it is also a concern for women regarding their fathers, 
        husbands, sons, and brothers.
            (3) Men's health is a concern for employers who pay the 
        costs of medical care, and lose productive employees.
            (4) Men's health is a concern to Federal and State 
        governments which absorb the enormous costs of premature death 
        and disability, including the costs of caring for dependents 
        left behind.
            (5) The life expectancy gap between men and women has 
        increased from one year in 1920 to almost six years in 1998.
            (6) Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer 
        in the United States among men, accounting for 36 percent of 
        all cancer cases.
            (7) An estimated 180,000 men will be newly diagnosed with 
        prostate cancer this year alone, and 37,000 will die.
            (8) The American Heart Association reports that heart 
        attack is the single biggest killer of American males. Men are 
        more likely to die of stroke and are almost twice as likely to 
        die of heart disease than are women. High blood pressure 
        increases the risk for stroke and heart attack and men under 
        age 55 are much more likely to suffer from high blood pressure 
        than are women.
            (9) An estimated 7,600 men will be diagnosed this year with 
        testicular cancer, and 400 of these men will die of this 
        disease in 2002. A common reason for delay in treatment of this 
        disease is a delay in seeking medical attention after 
        discovering a testicular mass.
            (10) Studies show that men are at least 25 percent less 
        likely than women to visit a doctor, and are significantly less 
        likely to have regular physician check-ups and obtain 
        preventive screening tests for serious diseases.
            (11) Appropriate use of tests such as prostate specific 
        antigen (PSA) exams and blood pressure, blood sugar, and 
        cholesterol screens, in conjunction with clinical exams and 
        self-testing, can result in the early detection of many 
        problems and in increased survival rates.
            (12) Educating men, their families, and health care 
        providers about the importance of early detection of male 
        health problems can result in reducing rates of mortality for 
        male-specific diseases, as well as improve the health of 
        America's men and its overall economic well-being.
            (13) Recent scientific studies have shown that regular 
        medical exams, preventive screenings, regular exercise, and 
        healthy eating habits can help save lives.
            (14) Establishing an Office of Men's Health is needed to 
        investigate these findings and take such further actions as may 
        be needed to promote men's health.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF MEN'S HEALTH.

    (a) In General.--Title XVII of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 300u et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

                        ``office of men's health

    ``Sec. 1711. The Secretary shall establish within the Department of 
Health and Human Services an office to be known as the Office of Men's 
Health, which shall be headed by a director appointed by the Secretary. 
The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Office, shall 
coordinate and promote the status of men's health in the United 
States.''.
    (b) Report.--Not later than two years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
acting through the Director of the Office of Men's Health (established 
under section 1711 of the Public Health Service Act as added by 
subsection (a)), shall submit to Congress a report describing the 
activities of such Office, including findings that the Director has 
made regarding men's health.
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