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106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2294

To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to help prevent osteoporosis.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 22, 1999

Ms. BERKLEY (for herself, Mrs. ROUKEMA, Ms. DELAURO, Mrs. MALONEY of

New York, Mr. MATSUI, Mr. HOYER, Mr. FROST, Mr. BORSKI, Ms.

ESHOO, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mrs. CAPPS, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mrs.

THURMAN, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. RUSH, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. SANDERS, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Mr. COSTELLO,

Mr. WYNN, Ms. NORTON, Ms. SANCHEZ, Ms. STABENOW, Ms. CARSON,

Ms. MCCARTHY of Missouri, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. SHOWS,

Mr. WEINER, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Mr. CAPUANO,

Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. HILLIARD, Mr.

SERRANO, Mr. SANDLIN, Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts, and Mr. MORAN

of Virginia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

A BILL

To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to help prevent

osteoporosis.

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 ‘‘Osteoporosis Edu5 cation and Prevention Act of 1999’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress makes the following findings:

3 (1) Osteoporosis is a major public health prob4 lem affecting 28 million Americans, including 10

5 million who already have the disease and 18 million

6 more who have low bone mass placing them at risk

7 for fractures.

8 (2) Although there is currently no cure for

9 osteoporosis, it is preventable in most cases, if prop10 er steps are taken to preserve bone mass as a person

11 ages.

12 (3) Osteoporosis is a silent disease that often is

13 not discovered until a fracture occurs. One out of

14 two women and one out of eight men over age 50

15 will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in their

16 lifetimes.

17 (4) While both men and women may develop

18 osteoporosis, 80 percent are women. Most adult

19 women are not aware of their personal risk factors

20 for osteoporosis. A woman’s risk of hip fracture is

21 equal to her combined risk of breast, uterine, and

22 ovarian cancer.

23 (5) Although 90 percent of fractures in women

24 65 years of age and older are osteoporosis-related,

25 most women presenting with fractures are not as26 sessed for osteoporosis.
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1 (6) The estimated nationwide medical cost di2 rectly attributable to osteoporosis-related treatment

3 is more than $13.8 billion annually, or $38 million

4 each day, and the cost is rising. Much of this cost

5 might be avoidable with proper education about pre6 vention, diagnosis, and treatment of osteoporosis.

7 Currently, only 25 states have osteoporosis programs

8 to educate the public about osteoporosis.

9 SEC. 3. AMENDMENT OF OLDER AMERICANS ACT OF 1965.

10 (a) INCLUSION OF OSTEOPOROSIS PROGRAM IN AREA

11 PLAN.—Section 306(a)(6) of the Older Americans Act of

12 1965 is amended—

13 (1) in subparagraph (R)(iii), by striking ‘‘and’’;

14 (2) in subparagraph (S), by adding at the end

15 ‘‘and’’; and

16 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub17 paragraph:

18 ‘‘(T) coordinate education relating to

19 osteoporosis prevention, diagnosis, and treat20 ment, and in States or localities which have im21 plemented an osteoporosis education program,

22 cooperate with the agency having charge over

23 such program; and’’.

24 (b) DEFINITION.—Section 363 of the Older Ameri25 cans Act of 1965 is amended—
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1 (1) in paragraph (2), by inserting

2 ‘‘osteoporosis,’’ after ‘‘diabetes,’’; and

3 (2) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘, including

4 counseling and services relating to prevention, diag5 nosis, and treatment of osteoporosis’’ before the

6 semicolon.

7 (c) OSTEOPOROSIS PREVENTION DEMONSTRATION

8 PROGRAM.—Section 422(b) of the Older Americans Act

9 of 1965 is amended:

10 (1) in paragraph (12)(C), by striking the period

11 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

12 (2) by inserting at the end the following new

13 paragraph:

14 ‘‘(13)(A) determine the best practices for pro15 viding information and outreach services (including

16 programs and information, such as forums, semi17 nars, and large-print, easy-to-understand, and multi18 lingual literature) relating to prevention, diagnosis,

19 and treatment of osteoporosis; and

20 ‘‘(B) measure the effectiveness of an

21 osteoporosis prevention program over a three-year

22 period, as shown by an increase in the percentages

23 of individuals who have demonstrated expanded
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1 awareness and knowledge of osteoporosis (including

2 knowledge of personal risk factors).’’.

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