To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish an Office of Men's Health.

May 8, 2003

Mr. CRAPO introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish an Office of Men's Health.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Men's Health Act of 2003'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds as follows:

(1) A silent health crisis is affecting the health and well-being of America's men.

(2) While this health crisis is of particular concern to men, it is also a concern for women regarding their fathers, husbands, sons, and brothers.

(3) Men's health is a concern for employers who pay the costs of medical care, and lose productive employees.

(4) Men's health is a concern to Federal and State governments which absorb the enormous costs of premature death and disability, including the costs of caring for dependents left behind.

(5) The life expectancy gap between men and women has increased from one year in 1920 to almost six years in 2001.

(6) Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in the United States among men, accounting for 30 percent of all cancer cases in men.

(7) An estimated 180,000 men will be newly diagnosed with prostate cancer this year alone, and over 30,000 will die.

(8) Prostate cancer rates increase sharply with age, and more than 70 percent of such cases are diagnosed in men age 65 and older.

(9) The incidence of prostate cancer is significantly higher in African-American men and the resulting mortality rate is twice that in white men.

(10) An estimated 7,500 men, ages 15 to 40, will be diagnosed this year with testicular cancer, and 400 of these men will die of this disease in 2003. A common reason for delay in treatment of this disease is a delay in seeking medical attention after discovering a testicular mass.

(11) According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the rate of doctor visits for such reasons as annual examinations and preventive services is 100 percent higher for women more than for men.

(12) Appropriate use of tests such as prostate specific antigen (PSA) exams and blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol screens, in conjunction with clinical exams and self-testing, can result in the early detection of many problems and in increased survival rates.

(13) Educating men, their families, and health care providers about the importance of early detection of male health problems can result in reducing rates of mortality for male-specific diseases, as well as improve the health of America's men and its overall economic well-being.

(14) Recent scientific studies have shown that regular medical exams, preventive screenings, regular exercise, and healthy eating habits can help save lives.

(15) Establishing an Office of Men's Health is needed to investigate these findings and take such further actions as may be needed to promote men's health.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF MEN'S HEALTH.

(a) IN GENERAL- Title XVII of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300u et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

`OFFICE OF MEN'S HEALTH

`SEC. 1711. The Secretary shall establish within the Department 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. The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Office, shall coordinate and promote the status of men's health in the United States.'.

(b) REPORT- Not later than two years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Office of Men's Health, shall submit to the Congress a report describing the activities of such Office, including findings that the Director has made regarding men's health.

END