II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2444 

To provide for research and education with respect to uterine fibroids, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 22, 2021 

Mr. BOOKER (for himself and Mrs. CAPITO) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To provide for research and education with respect to uterine 

fibroids, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stephanie Tubbs Jones 

5 Uterine Fibroid Research and Education Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds as follows: 

8 (1) It is estimated that 20 percent to 50 per9 cent of women of reproductive age currently have 


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1 uterine fibroids, and up to 77 percent of women will 

2 develop fibroids before menopause. 

3 (2) In the United States, an estimated 

4 26,000,000 women between the ages of 15 and 50 

5 have uterine fibroids, and approximately 15,000,000 

6 of these individuals experience symptoms. Uterine 

7 fibroids may cause significant morbidity through 

8 their presence in the uterus and pelvic cavity, and 

9 symptoms can include pelvic pain, severe menstrual 

10 bleeding, iron-deficiency anemia, fatigue, bladder or 

11 bowel dysfunction, infertility, and pregnancy com12 plications and loss. 

13 (3) The pain, discomfort, stress, and other 

14 physical and emotional symptoms of living with 

15 fibroids may significantly interfere with a woman’s 

16 quality of life, compromising her ability to function 

17 normally or work or care for her family, and may 

18 lead to more severe health and wellness issues. 

19 (4) Most women will experience uterine fibroids 

20 by the age of 50, yet few data exist describing the 

21 overall patient experience with fibroids. 

22 (5) Many people with fibroids are likely 

23 undiagnosed. Patients wait on average 3.6 years be24 fore seeking treatment, and over 40 percent of pa25 tients see 2 or more health care providers prior to 


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1 receiving a diagnosis, underscoring the need for im2 proved awareness and education. 

3 (6) People of color are more likely to develop 

4 uterine fibroids. It is estimated that more than 80 

5 percent of Black women and about 70 percent of 

6 White women develop fibroids by the time they reach 

7 menopause. Black individuals with fibroids also have 

8 been shown to have more severe symptoms and de9 velop early-onset uterine fibroids that develop into 

10 larger tumors. 

11 (7) Current research and available data do not 

12 provide adequate information on the prevalence and 

13 incidence of fibroids in Asian, Hispanic, and Black 

14 individuals. 

15 (8) Symptomatic uterine fibroids can cause re16 productive problems, including infertility. People 

17 with uterine fibroids are much more likely to mis18 carry during early pregnancy than people without 

19 them. 

20 (9) According to the Evidence Report Summary 

21 on the Management of Uterine Fibroids, as compiled 

22 by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 

23 there is a ‘‘remarkable lack of high-quality evidence 

24 supporting the effectiveness of most interventions for 

25 symptomatic fibroids’’. 


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1 (10) Most medical options for managing fibroid 

2 symptoms regulate or suppress menstruation and 

3 prevent pregnancy. There is a great need for mini4 mally invasive, fertility-friendly therapies, as well as 

5 biomarkers, imaging assessments, or risk-based algo6 rithms that can help predict patient response to 

7 therapy. 

8 (11) The presence of symptomatic uterine 

9 fibroids is the most common reason for 

10 hysterectomies, accounting for 39 percent of 

11 hysterectomies annually in the United States. Ap12 proximately 42 per 1,000 women are hospitalized 

13 annually because of uterine fibroids, but Black pa14 tients have higher rates of hospitalization, 

15 hysterectomies, and myomectomies compared to 

16 White women. Uterine fibroids are also the leading 

17 cause of hospitalization related to a gynecological 

18 disorder. 

19 (12) The personal and societal costs of uterine 

20 fibroids in the United States are significant. Uterine 

21 fibroid tumors have been estimated to cost the 

22 United States $5,900,000,000 to $34,400,000,000 

23 annually. The annual direct costs, including surgery, 

24 hospital admissions, outpatient visits, and medica25 tions, were estimated at $4,100,000,000 to 


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1 $9,400,000,000 annually. Estimated lost work-hour 

2 costs ranged from $1,550,000,000 to 

3 $17,200,000,000 annually. Obstetric outcomes that 

4 were attributed to fibroid tumors resulted in costs of 

5 $238,000,000 to $7,760,000,000 annually. 

6 (13) At the Federal level, uterine fibroid re7 search remains drastically underfunded as compared 

8 to patient disease burden. In 2019, fibroid research 

9 received about $17,000,000 in funding from the Na10 tional Institutes of Health, putting it in the bottom 

11 50 of 292 funded conditions. 

12 SEC. 3. RESEARCH WITH RESPECT TO UTERINE FIBROIDS. 

13 (a) RESEARCH.—The Secretary of Health and 

14 Human Services (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec15 retary’’) shall expand, intensify, and coordinate programs 

16 for the conduct and support of research with respect to 

17 uterine fibroids. 

18 (b) ADMINISTRATION AND COORDINATION.—The 

19 Secretary shall carry out the conduct and support of re20 search pursuant to subsection (a), in coordination with the 

21 appropriate institutes, offices, and centers of the National 

22 Institutes of Health and any other relevant Federal agen23 cy, as determined by the Secretary and the Director of 

24 the National Institutes of Health. 


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1 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the 

2 purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized 

3 to be appropriated $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

4 2022 through 2026. 

5 SEC. 4. RESEARCH WITH RESPECT TO MEDICAID COV6 ERAGE OF UTERINE FIBROIDS TREATMENT. 

7 (a) RESEARCH.—The Secretary (or the Secretary’s 

8 designee) shall establish a research database, or expand 

9 an existing research database, to collect data on services 

10 furnished to individuals diagnosed with uterine fibroids 

11 under a State plan (or a waiver of such a plan) under 

12 the Medicaid program under title XIX of the Social Secu13 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) or under a State child 

14 health plan (or a waiver of such a plan) under the Chil15 dren’s Health Insurance Program under title XXI of such 

16 Act (42 U.S.C. 1397aa et seq.) for the treatment of such 

17 fibroids for purposes of assessing the frequency at which 

18 such individuals are furnished such services. 

19 (b) REPORT.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the date that 

21 is 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, 

22 the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on 

23 the amount of Federal and State expenditures with 

24 respect to services furnished for the treatment of 

25 uterine fibroids under State plans (or waivers of 


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1 such plans) under the Medicaid program under such 

2 title XIX and State child health plans (or waivers of 

3 such plans) under the Children’s Health Insurance 

4 Program under such title XXI. 

5 (2) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall co6 ordinate the development and submission of the re7 port required under paragraph (1) with any other 

8 relevant Federal agency, as determined by the Sec9 retary. 

10 SEC. 5. EDUCATION AND DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION 

11 WITH RESPECT TO UTERINE FIBROIDS. 

12 (a) UTERINE FIBROIDS PUBLIC EDUCATION PRO13 GRAM.—The Secretary shall develop and disseminate to 

14 the public information regarding uterine fibroids, includ15 ing information on— 

16 (1) the awareness, incidence, and prevalence of 

17 uterine fibroids among individuals, including all mi18 nority individuals; 

19 (2) the elevated risk for minority individuals to 

20 develop uterine fibroids; and 

21 (3) the availability, as medically appropriate, of 

22 the range of treatment options for symptomatic 

23 uterine fibroids, including non-hysterectomy treat24 ments and procedures. 


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1 (b) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.—The Sec2 retary may disseminate information under subsection (a) 

3 directly or through arrangements with intra-agency initia4 tives, nonprofit organizations, consumer groups, institu5 tions of higher education (as defined in section 101 of the 

6 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)), or Fed7 eral, State, or local public private partnerships. 

8 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the 

9 purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized 

10 to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for 

11 each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026. 

12 SEC. 6. INFORMATION TO HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS WITH 

13 RESPECT TO UTERINE FIBROIDS. 

14 (a) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.—The Sec15 retary of Health and Human Services shall, in consulta16 tion and in accordance with guidelines from relevant med17 ical societies, work with health care-related specialty soci18 eties and health systems to promote evidence-based care 

19 for individuals with fibroids. Such efforts shall include mi20 nority individuals who have an elevated risk to develop 

21 uterine fibroids and the range of available options for the 

22 treatment of symptomatic uterine fibroids, including non23 hysterectomy drugs and devices approved under the Fed24 eral Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et 

25 seq.). 


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1 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the 

2 purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized 

3 to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for 

4 each of the fiscal years 2022 through 2026. 

5 SEC. 7. DEFINITION. 

6 In this Act, the term ‘‘minority individuals’’ means 

7 individuals who are members of a racial and ethnic minor8 ity group, as defined in section 1707(g) of the Public 

9 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300u–6(g)). 

Æ 


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