I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3513
To amend the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services to expand and intensify programs with respect 
to research and related activities concerning elder falls, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 18, 2003
Mr. PALLONE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to direct the Sec-
retary of Health and Human Services to expand and 
intensify programs with respect to research and related 
activities concerning elder falls, and for other purposes.
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 ‘‘Elder Fall Prevention 
Act of 2003’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds as follows:
(1) Falls are the leading cause of injury deaths 
among people over 65. 
(2) By 2030, the population of individuals who 
are 65 years of age or older will double. By 2050, 
the population of individuals who are 85 years of 
age or older will quadruple. 
(3) In 2000, falls among elderly individuals ac-
counted for 10,200 deaths and 1,600,000 emergency 
department visits. 
(4) Sixty percent of fall-related deaths occur 
among persons 75 and older. 
(5) Twenty-five percent of elderly persons who 
sustain a hip fracture die within 1 year. 
(6) Hospital admissions for hip fractures 
among the elderly have increased from 231,000 ad-
missions in 1988 to 332,000 in 1999. The number 
of hip fractures is expected to exceed 500,000 by 
2040. 
(7) Annually, more than 64,000 individuals who 
are over 65 years of age sustain a traumatic brain 
injury as a result of a fall. 
(8) Annually, 40,000 individuals who are over 
65 years of age visit emergency departments with 
traumatic brain injuries suffered as a result of a
fall, of which 16,000 of these individuals are hos-
pitalized and 4,000 of these individuals die. 
(9) The rate of fall-induced traumatic brain in-
juries for individuals who are 80 years of age or 
older increased by 60 percent from 1989 to 1998. 
(10) The estimated total cost for non-fatal 
traumatic brain injury-related hospitalizations for 
falls in individuals who are 65 years of age or older 
is more than $3,250,000,000. Two-thirds of these 
costs occurred among individual who were 75 years 
of age or older. 
(11) The costs to the Medicare and Medicaid 
programs and society as a whole from falls by elder-
ly persons continue to climb much faster than infla-
tion and population growth. Direct costs alone will 
exceed $32,000,000,000 in 2020. 
(12) The Federal Government should devote ad-
ditional resources to research regarding the preven-
tion and treatment of falls in residential as well as 
institutional settings. 
(13) A national approach to reducing elder 
falls, which focuses on the daily life of senior citizens 
in residential, institutional, and community settings 
is needed. The approach should include a wide range 
of organizations and individuals including family
members, health care providers, social workers, ar-
chitects, employers and others. 
(14) Reducing preventable adverse events, such 
as elder falls, is an important aspect to the agenda 
to improve patient safety. 
SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this Act are—
(1) to develop effective public education strate-
gies in a national initiative to reduce elder falls in 
order to educate the elders themselves, family mem-
bers, employers, caregivers, and others who touch 
the lives of senior citizens; 
(2) to expand needed services and gain informa-
tion about the most effective approaches to pre-
venting and treating elder falls; and 
(3) to require the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services to evaluate the effect of elder falls 
on the costs of the Medicare and Medicaid programs 
and the potential for reducing costs by expanding 
education, prevention, and elderly intervention serv-
ices covered or sponsored by these two programs. 
SEC. 4. AMENDMENT TO PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT. 
Title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
241 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following 
part: