III 112th CONGRESS 1st Session S. RES. 95 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 8, 2011 Mr. Burr submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions RESOLUTION Increasing awareness of and recognizing the life-saving role of ostomy care and prosthetics in the daily lives of hundreds of thousands of people in the United States.

Whereas over 700,000 individuals in the United States, from young children to senior citizens, have an ostomy, a surgical procedure that creates an artificial opening from the abdomen to the intestines or urinary system to allow for the elimination of bodily wastes; Whereas active duty military personnel who are wounded in battle often receive an ostomy as a result of penetrating colorectal injuries; Whereas an ostomy procedure can be essential to many patients who suffer on a daily basis from serious, chronic, or life-threatening traumatic injury to the abdomen, or other illnesses and conditions, such as colorectal or bladder cancer, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, birth defects, or other intestinal or urinary medical conditions; Whereas following ostomy surgery, patients may need specially fitted medical products to manage intestinal or urinary system function, temporarily or permanently restore intestinal or urinary system function, or re-establish activities of daily living, and improve quality of life; Whereas ostomy products are prosthetic devices prescribed by health care providers, and ostomy products are prosthetic devices, as defined in section 1861(s)(8) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(s)(8)); Whereas policy and reimbursement approaches to ostomy products may affect access for patients in need; Whereas ostomy products are customized to the clinical needs of individual patients and are not the same as other easily interchangeable medical supplies, such as gauze or bandages; Whereas ostomy care and prosthetics can be important to restoring function and improving quality of life for patients in need of this care; Whereas ongoing advances and innovation in ostomy prosthetics’ technology can dramatically improve the lives of individuals who undergo ostomy surgery by helping to normalize the intestinal or urinary system function of such individuals, improve physical well-being, and often enable the individual to rejoin the workforce; and Whereas Congress recognizes the importance of encouraging and facilitating the development and use of new medical technologies: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate— (1)recognizes the life-saving role of ostomy care and prosthetics in the daily lives of hundreds of thousands of people in the United States; (2)recognizes that if a surgical procedure results in a patient needing a prosthetic that manages or restores intestinal or urinary system function, specifically the control of the elimination of the body’s waste products, it is important for such patient to have access to the care that will best meet the patient's needs; and (3)encourages innovation of, and access to, medical devices that restore or improve intestinal or urinary system function of people in the United States with an ostomy.