[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 195 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.Con.Res.195
                                            Agreed to September 27, 2008

                       One Hundred Tenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Thursday,
            the third day of January, two thousand and eight


                          Concurrent Resolution

Whereas dysphagia, or difficulty with swallowing, is a medical 
  dysfunction that affects as many as 15,000,000 Americans;

Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated 
  that 1,000,000 people in the United States annually are diagnosed 
  with dysphagia;

Whereas the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has estimated 
  that 60,000 Americans die annually from complications associated with 
  dysphagia;

Whereas based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mortality 
  data, this is more than the total number of Americans dying from all 
  forms of liver disease, kidney disease, and HIV/AIDS combined--and 
  nearly as many as those dying from diabetes, the number 6 killer of 
  Americans;

Whereas the most common complication arising from dysphagia is 
  aspiration pneumonia--caused by food or saliva entering the windpipe 
  and into the lungs;

Whereas one in 17 people will develop some form of dysphagia in their 
  lifetime, including 50 to 75 percent of stroke patients and 60 to 75 
  percent of patients who undergo radiation therapy for head and neck 
  cancer;

Whereas as many as half of all Americans over 60 will experience 
  dysphagia at some point;

Whereas complications due to dysphagia increase health care costs by 
  resultant hospital readmissions, emergency room visits, extended 
  hospital stays, the necessity for long-term institutional care, and 
  the need for expensive respiratory and nutritional support;

Whereas the cost of managing a patient with a feeding tube, which for 
  many has been the primary treatment option for this condition, is 
  reported to average over $31,000 per patient per year;

Whereas the total annual cost to Medicare just for enteral feeding 
  supplies for outpatients was more than $670,000,000 in 2003, nearly 6 
  percent of the total Medicare budget for that year;

Whereas including the monies spent in hospitals, the total cost of 
  dysphagia to the health care system is well over $1,000,000,000 
  annually;

Whereas the condition of dysphagia is a vastly underreported condition 
  and not widely understood by the general public; and

Whereas observing June 2008 as National Dysphagia Awareness Month would 
  raise public awareness about dysphagia and the need for early 
  detection and treatment: Now, therefore, be it

    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of the Congress that a National Dysphagia 
Awareness Month should be established.
Attest:

                                 Clerk of the House of Representatives.

Attest:

                                               Secretary of the Senate.