III 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 195 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
JUNE 27, 2008 
Received and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of the Congress that a National 
Dysphagia Awareness Month should be established. 
Whereas dysphagia, or difficulty with swallowing, is a medical 
dysfunction that affects as many as 15,000,000 Ameri-
cans; 
Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has 
estimated that 1,000,000 people in the United States an-
nually are diagnosed with dysphagia; 
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HCON 195 RFS 
Whereas the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has 
estimated that 60,000 Americans die annually from com-
plications associated with dysphagia; 
Whereas based on Centers for Disease Control and Preven-
tion mortality data, this is more than the total number 
of Americans dying from all forms of liver disease, kidney 
disease, and HIV/AIDS combined—and nearly as many 
as those dying from diabetes, the number 6 killer of 
Americans; 
Whereas the most common complication arising from dys-
phagia is aspiration pneumonia—caused by food or saliva 
entering the windpipe and into the lungs; 
Whereas one in 17 people will develop some form of dys-
phagia in their lifetime, including 50 to 75 percent of 
stroke patients and 60 to 75 percent of patients who un-
dergo radiation therapy for head and neck cancer; 
Whereas as many as half of all Americans over 60 will experi-
ence dysphagia at some point; 
Whereas complications due to dysphagia increase health care 
costs by resultant hospital readmissions, emergency room 
visits, extended hospital stays, the necessity for long-term 
institutional care, and the need for expensive respiratory 
and nutritional support; 
Whereas the cost of managing a patient with a feeding tube, 
which for many has been the primary treatment option 
for this condition, is reported to average over $31,000 
per patient per year; 
Whereas the total annual cost to Medicare just for enteral 
feeding 
supplies 
for 
outpatients 
was 
more 
than 
$670,000,000 in 2003, nearly 6 percent of the total 
Medicare budget for that year; 
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Whereas including the monies spent in hospitals, the total 
cost of dysphagia to the health care system is well over 
$1,000,000,000 annually; 
Whereas the condition of dysphagia is a vastly underreported 
condition and not widely understood by the general pub-
lic; and 
Whereas observing June 2008 as National Dysphagia Aware-
ness Month would raise public awareness about dys-
phagia and the need for early detection and treatment: 
Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that a 
National Dysphagia Awareness Month should be estab-
lished. 
Passed the House of Representatives June 26, 2008. 
Attest: 
LORRAINE C. MILLER, 
Clerk. 
By ROBERT F. REEVES, 
Deputy Clerk. 
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