I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3803

To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to provide information and 

outreach for the prevention of osteoporosis. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 11, 2004

Ms. BERKLEY (for herself and Mr. BURGESS) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in 

addition to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a period 

to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL

To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to provide 

information and outreach for the prevention of 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 2004’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 
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1 (1) Osteoporosis is a major public health prob2 lem affecting 44,000,000 Americans: 10,000,000 

3 who already have the disease and 34,000,000 more 

4 who have low bone mass placing them at risk for 

5 fractures. 

6 (2) Although there is currently no cure for 

7 osteoporosis, it is preventable in most cases if proper 

8 steps are taken to preserve bone mass as an indi9 vidual ages. 

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

11 not discovered until a fracture occurs. One out of 

12 two women and one out of four men over age 50 will 

13 have an osteoporosis-related fracture in their life14 times. 

15 (4) While both men and women may develop 

16 osteoporosis, 80 percent of the individuals who de17 velop the disease are women. Most adult women are 

18 not aware of their personal risk factors for 

19 osteoporosis. A woman’s risk hip fracture is equal to 

20 her combined risk of breast, uterine, and ovarian 

21 cancer. 

22 (5) Osteoporosis is responsible for more than 

23 1,500,000 fractures annually, including over 

24 300,000 hip fractures, approximately 700,000 
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1 vertebral fractures, 250,000 wrist fractures, and 

2 300,000 other fractures. 

3 (6) The estimated nationwide medical costs di4 rectly attributable to osteoporosis-related treatment 

5 was $17,000,000,000 in 2001—$47,000,000 each 

6 day—and the cost is rising. Much of this cost might 

7 be avoidable with proper education about prevention, 

8 diagnosis, and treatment of osteoporosis. 

9 SEC. 3. NATIONAL PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN. 

10 The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 

11 carry out a national campaign to increase awareness and 

12 knowledge with respect to osteoporosis. As part of such 

13 campaign, the Secretary shall provide public service an14 nouncements, in accordance with applicable law and regu15 lations, by developing and placing in telecommunications 

16 media announcements intended to encourage at-risk popu17 lations to discuss their risks of osteoporosis with their phy18 sicians, and to call attention to early warning signs and 

19 risks factors based on the best available medical informa20 tion. 

21 SEC. 4. AMENDMENT. 

22 Section 202 of the Older Americans Act of 1995 (42 

23 U.S.C. 3012) is amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing: 
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1 ‘‘(g)(1) The Assistant Secretary shall carry out an 

2 osteoporosis prevention demonstration program by making 

3 grants to public and private nonprofit agencies, organiza4 tions, and institutions for purposes of—

5 ‘‘(A) determining the best practices for pro6 viding information and outreach services (including 

7 programs and information, such as forums, semi8 nars, and large-print, easy-to-understand, multi9 lingual literature) relating to prevention, diagnosis, 

10 and treatment of osteoporosis; and 

11 ‘‘(B) measuring the effectiveness of such pro12 gram over a 3-year-period, as shown by an increase 

13 in the percentages of individuals who have dem14 onstrated expanded awareness and knowledge of 

15 osteoporosis (including knowledge of personal risk 

16 factors). 

17 ‘‘(2) In carrying out such program, the Assistant Sec18 retary shall collaborate with the leading nonprofit health 

19 organization, as well as other health entities, with a mis20 sion both to promote lifelong bone health nationwide and 

21 to provide outreach to State and local governments and 

22 communities, for the purpose of determining the best prac23 tices for providing bone-health information and outreach 

24 services to at-risk populations. 
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1 ‘‘(3) The Assistant Secretary shall include in the an2 nual report required by section 207(a) to be submitted by 

3 the Assistant Secretary, a description of the program car4 ried out under paragraph (1) and of the collaboration pro5 vided under paragraph (2).’’.

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