men, ages 30 to 44 was more than two and a 
half times higher than that of White men in the 
same age group. American Indian and Alaska 
Native men of the same age group had unin-
sured rates that were two times higher than 
White men. 
(9) HEALTH LITERACY AND EDUCATION.—Pro-
viding a culturally competent and ethnically diverse 
health care workforce is likely to improve quality of 
health care and health outcomes for men. Addition-
ally, finding ways to better educate men, their fami-
lies, and health care providers about the importance 
of early detection of male health problems can result 
in reducing rates of mortality for male-specific dis-
eases, as well as improve the health of America’s 
men and its overall economic well-being. 
(A) A majority of men of color, most nota-
bly those with lower levels of education, have 
difficulty understanding medical information. 
Men of color have reported limited medical lit-
eracy. More than half of African American (54 
percent), Hispanic (59 percent), and Asian (63 
percent) men reported that they did not find in-
formation from their doctor’s office easy to un-
derstand. Others reported a similar difficulty 
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understanding the information written on pre-
scription bottles. 
(B) Asian, Pacific Islander, and Latino 
men, the men for whom English is more likely 
to be a second language, most frequently re-
ported dissatisfaction with the quality of care 
received from health care providers. 
(10) PRISON HEALTH.—The rates for incarcer-
ated men of color are generally much higher than 
for White men. Men of color also enter the prison 
population suffering from a wider range of primary 
and chronic diseases. Men of color, who are ex-of-
fenders, also return to low-income communities with 
the fewest health resources. The unmet health needs 
of these men threaten scarce public resources by 
placing additional burdens on the health infrastruc-
ture of a wide range of urban and rural commu-
nities. 
(A) In 2005, the percentage of African 
American and Hispanic men who were incarcer-
ated was significantly higher than the incarcer-
ation rate for White men. 
(i) Many of these inmates suffer with 
HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, and tuberculosis and 
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various chronic diseases such as diabetes, 
hypertension, and asthma. 
(ii) Even more male inmates suffer 
from undiagnosed or untreated mental ill-
ness. 
(B) These disproportionate rates of chronic 
disease and conditions have a tremendous affect 
on many low-income communities, both urban 
and rural. 
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF MEN’S HEALTH. 
Title XVII of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 300 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following section: 
‘‘SEC. 1711. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE OF MEN’S 
HEALTH. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Health 
and Human Services shall establish within the Depart-
ment of Health and Human Services an office to be known 
as the Office of Men’s Health, which shall be headed by 
a director appointed by the Secretary. 
‘‘(b) PERSONNEL.—The Secretary, acting through 
the Director of the Office of Men’s Health, shall recruit 
and hire qualified personnel for the Office, including mem-
bers of racial and ethnic minority populations with rel-
evant expertise in men’s health issues. 
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‘‘(c) COORDINATION WITH FEDERAL HEALTH AGEN-
CIES.—The Secretary, acting through the Director of the 
Office of Men’s Health, shall collaborate with all relevant 
agencies and offices of the Federal Government, including 
the Institute of Medicine, the National Center for Health 
Statistics, and the National Center on Minority Health 
and Health Disparities at the National Institutes of 
Health, the Office of Minority Health, the Substance 
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the In-
dian Health Service, the Agency for Healthcare Research 
and Quality, and others to identify and report on men’s 
health data, including health disparities for chronic dis-
eases and health conditions related to men of color. 
‘‘(d) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘racial 
and ethnic minority populations’ means American Indian 
or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, His-
panic or Latino, and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Is-
lander populations.’’. 
SEC. 4. GRANTS. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services shall make grants to institutions of high-
er education for the purpose of— 
(1) conducting conferences on men’s health; 
(2) conducting public education campaigns to 
reduce health disparities relating to men’s health; 
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(3) evaluating the effectiveness of government 
and public sector resources that focus on men’s 
health; and 
(4) reporting on the gaps and problems that 
men of color have in utilizing health resources in a 
city or county. 
(b) PRIORITY.—In evaluating grant proposals under 
this section, the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
shall give priority to proposals from Historically Black 
Colleges or Universities (HBCU) and proposals from his-
torically Hispanic, Native American, or other ethnic col-
leges and universities. 
(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 
out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated 
$50,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 and each subsequent fis-
cal year. 
SEC. 5. REPORTING. 
(a) IOM STUDY ON MEN’S HEALTH.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services shall enter into an agreement with 
the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy 
of Sciences— 
(A) to conduct a comprehensive study on 
men’s health; and 
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