[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 6878]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



 REINTRODUCTION OF THE OSTEOPOROSIS EARLY DETECTION AND PREVENTION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 2, 2001

  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, I would like to address an important 
health care concern that effects nearly 30 million Americans. It is 
especially appropriate that I rise today because May is Osteoporosis 
Prevention Month. Osteoporosis is a disease characterized by low bone 
mass or brittle bones. The statistics are startling. For instance, 71 
percent of women with osteoporosis are not diagnosed, leaving them at 
increased risk for fractures. Osteoporosis causes 300,000 new hip 
fractures each year. Less than one-third of patients fully recover from 
a hip fracture and only one in five persons who suffer a hip fracture 
will survive more than a year. The costs associated with this disease 
are in excess of $13.8 billion annually. With an aging population, 
costs and disability are only expected to escalate. It is time that we 
did something about it.
  Today, joined by Congresswoman Morella, I have re-introduced, with 
strong Congressional support, the ``Osteoporosis Early Detection and 
Prevention Act of 2001.'' Senators Torricelli and Snowe re-introduced 
the companion bill in the Senate. This bill would amend the Public 
Health Service Act and Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, 
requiring private insurers to reimburse for bone mass measurement.
  My bill requires private health insurance plans to cover a bone mass 
measurement test for qualified men and women who are at risk for 
developing osteoporosis. Bone mass measurement is a non-invasive, 
painless and reliable way to diagnose osteoporosis before costly 
fractures occur. The average cost to treat one hip fracture is $32,000, 
while a simple bone density test costs an average of $250. Bone density 
is the most efficient and predictive method for determining whether an 
individual is at risk for future fracture.
  Building strong bones can be the best defense against developing 
osteoporosis later in life. Women and men are encouraged to eat a 
balanced diet rich in calcium and vitamin D, to exercise and lead a 
healthy lifestyle. However, because many Americans are unaware that 
they are at risk for contracting this debilitating disease, early 
detection is even more critical and can be a matter of life or death. 
If we can identify those at risk, we can reduce pain, suffering, and 
billions of dollars in health care expenditures. According to the 
National Osteoporosis Foundation, a recent study of 1,162 women age 55 
years and older who had broken their wrists found that fewer than one-
fourth of them had received a bone density diagnostic test or a 
medication approved for osteoporosis treatment after the fracture. More 
women and men must be tested.
  The Osteoporosis Early Detection and Prevention Act of 2001 is needed 
because by the time men and women, but especially women, come of age to 
enter the Medicare program, it is often too late. Medicare covers bone 
density testings, but many private health insurance plans do not. It is 
extremely important that we target individuals at the age of menopause, 
before they begin excessive bone loss. We do not want to continue to 
lose hundreds of thousands of individuals to this disease.
  Currently, many private insurance companies do not reimburse for bone 
mineral density exams. Others severely limit access to the technology 
by requiring physicians to refer their patients out to large imaging 
centers. These insurance companies are preventing those at risk from 
being screened. We need to require insurers to provide access to the 
technology so we can identify those at risk. The number of individuals 
who will benefit from this technology is significant. In the U.S. 
today, eight million women and two million men have osteoporosis and 18 
million more have low bone mass, placing them at risk for this disease. 
The primary care physician should have the means to adequately screen 
for this disease. The technology is there.
  So to mark Osteoporosis Prevention Month and to save thousands upon 
thousands of Americans from suffering, I urge my fellow Members to join 
me in my support of this bill. Let's do what we can to put an end to 
this disease.

                          ____________________