[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 122, 110th Congress, 2nd Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
[NOTE: Sept. 27, 2008 -  [H.Con.Res.195]   NATIONAL DYSPHAGIA AWARENESS
MONTH--SUPPORT

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


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122 STAT. 5204


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.

Agreed to September 27, 2008.