I
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. CLY-
BURN, 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 Com-
mittee on Education and the Workforce
A BILL
To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to help prevent
osteoporosis.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Osteoporosis Edu-
cation and Prevention Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Osteoporosis is a major public health prob-
lem affecting 28 million Americans, including 10
million who already have the disease and 18 million
more who have low bone mass placing them at risk
for fractures.
(2) Although there is currently no cure for
osteoporosis, it is preventable in most cases, if prop-
er steps are taken to preserve bone mass as a person
ages.
(3) Osteoporosis is a silent disease that often is
not discovered until a fracture occurs. One out of
two women and one out of eight men over age 50
will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in their
lifetimes.
(4) While both men and women may develop
osteoporosis, 80 percent are women. Most adult
women are not aware of their personal risk factors
for osteoporosis. A woman’s risk of hip fracture is
equal to her combined risk of breast, uterine, and
ovarian cancer.
(5) Although 90 percent of fractures in women
65 years of age and older are osteoporosis-related,
most women presenting with fractures are not as-
sessed for osteoporosis.
(6) The estimated nationwide medical cost di-
rectly attributable to osteoporosis-related treatment
is more than $13.8 billion annually, or $38 million
each day, and the cost is rising. Much of this cost
might be avoidable with proper education about pre-
vention, diagnosis, and treatment of osteoporosis.
Currently, only 25 states have osteoporosis programs
to educate the public about osteoporosis.
SEC. 3. AMENDMENT OF OLDER AMERICANS ACT OF 1965.
(a) INCLUSION OF OSTEOPOROSIS PROGRAM IN AREA
PLAN.—Section 306(a)(6) of the Older Americans Act of
1965 is amended—
(1) in subparagraph (R)(iii), by striking ‘‘and’’;
(2) in subparagraph (S), by adding at the end
‘‘and’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph:
‘‘(T) coordinate education relating to
osteoporosis prevention, diagnosis, and treat-
ment, and in States or localities which have im-
plemented an osteoporosis education program,
cooperate with the agency having charge over
such program; and’’.
(b) DEFINITION.—Section 363 of the Older Ameri-
cans Act of 1965 is amended—