Men's Health Awareness and Improvement Act
This bill establishes the Office of Men's Health within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and requires other activities to improve men's health in the United States.
The office must support and promote men's health programs and initiatives, including by working with relevant federal agencies (e.g., the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs) and consulting with other HHS offices and agencies on activities related to men's health. HHS must issue associated guidance and recommendations on improving men's health outcomes that include short-term and long-term objectives for disease prevention, health promotion, and other areas of concern.
The bill also requires studies and reports on men's health topics. The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health must study men's use of health screenings and services, and the Government Accountability Office must report on the effectiveness of federal outreach related to men's health initiatives.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5986 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5986
To improve men's health initiatives, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 16, 2021
Mr. Payne (for himself, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Ms.
Norton, Mr. Sires, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Bowman, Mr. Mfume, Mr.
Veasey, Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Mrs. Watson Coleman, and Ms. Jackson
Lee) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To improve men's health initiatives, and for other purposes.
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 Awareness and
Improvement Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Risks to the health and well-being of the Nation's men
(and our families) are on the rise due to a lack of education
on, awareness of, and pursuit of preventive screening and care.
For instance--
(A) men are leading in 9 out of the top 10 causes
of death;
(B) the life expectancy gap persists with the
average age of death for men being 76.2 years versus
81.2 years for women; and
(C) in the United States, men die at an overall
rate 1.4 times higher than women.
(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 to the Federal Government and
State governments, which absorb the enormous costs of premature
death and disability, including the costs of caring for
dependents who are left behind.
(4) According to the Social Security Administration, 16.3
percent of widows age 65 and over are impoverished, compared to
4.9 percent of married women age 65 and over.
(5) Educating men, their families, and health care
providers about the importance of early detection of health
issues that can impact men, such as cardiovascular disease,
mental health, HIV/AIDS, osteoporosis, cancer (lung, prostate,
skin, colorectal, testicular, and more), and other pertinent
health issues, can result in reducing rates of mortality of
diseases impacting males, as well as improve the health of the
Nation's males and its overall economic well-being.
(6) Of concern is the physical, mental, and emotional well-
being of our military men (and women) returning from war zones
and our veterans.
(7) Recent scientific studies have shown that regular
medical exams, preventive screenings, regular exercise, and
healthy eating habits can save lives.
(8) According to the American Foundation for Suicide
Prevention, men are nearly four times as likely to commit
suicide.
(9) Appropriate use of tests such as prostate cancer
screening exams, blood pressure tests, blood glucose testing,
lipid panel testing, and colorectal screenings, in conjunction
with clinical exams or self-testing, can result in the early
detection of many problems and increased survival rates.
(10) Men's health is a concern for employers who pay the
costs of medical care and lose productive employees.
(11) According to the National Cancer Institute, cancer
mortality is higher among men than women (185.5 per 100,000 men
and 133.5 per 100,000 women).
(12) In 2018, national expenditures for cancer care in the
United States were $150.8 billion.
(13) Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed
cancer in the United States among men. One in 9 men will be
diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. This year
alone, over 248,530 men will be newly diagnosed with prostate
cancer and 34,130 men with prostate cancer will die. Costs
associated with prostate cancer detection and treatments were
$15.3 billion in 2018 in the United States and such costs are
estimated to increase. Prostate cancer rates increase sharply
with age, and more than 90 percent of such cases are diagnosed
in men age 55 and older. The incidence of prostate cancer is 50
percent higher in African-American men, who are twice as likely
to die from such cancer. There are over 3,100,000 men in the
United States living with prostate cancer.
(14) It is estimated that, in 2021, approximately 119,100
men in the United States will be diagnosed with lung cancer,
and an estimated 69,410 men will die from lung cancer.
(15) It is estimated that, in 2021, approximately 79,520
men in the United States will be diagnosed with colorectal
cancer, and 28,520 men will die from colorectal cancer.
(16) Men make up over half the diabetes patients aged 18
and over in the United States (17.9 million men total) and over
\1/3\ of them don't know it. Approximately 34.2 million people
in the United States are living with diabetes, and men are more
likely to die from the disease. In the United States, 88
million people aged 18 and older, 40.9 million men, and 47.1
million women have prediabetes. People with diagnosed diabetes
have medical expenditures that are 2.3 times higher than
patients without diabetes, and the estimated cost of diabetes
in 2017 was $327 million.
(17) A research study found that premature death and
morbidity in men costs Federal, State, and local governments in
excess of $142 billion annually. It also costs United States
employers, and society as a whole, in excess of $156 billion
annually and an additional $181 billion annually in decreased
quality of life.
(18) Over 9,470 men will be diagnosed in 2021 with
testicular cancer, and 440 of these men will die from this
disease. A common reason for delay in treatment of this disease
is a delay in seeking medical attention after discovering a
testicular mass.
(19) Men over the past decade have shown poorer health
outcomes than women across all racial and ethnic groups as well
as socioeconomic status.
(20) Healthy fathers can be role models for their children,
leading by example, and encouraging them to lead healthy
lifestyles.
(21) Establishing an Office of Men's Health is needed to
investigate these findings and take further action to promote
awareness of men's health needs.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF MEN'S HEALTH.
Title XVII of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300u et
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 1711. OFFICE OF MEN'S HEALTH.
``(a) In General.--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 to be
appointed by the Secretary.
``(b) Activities.--The Director of the Office of Men's Health
shall--
``(1) conduct, support, coordinate, and promote programs
and activities to improve the state of men's health in the
United States, including by working with the Department of
Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense, and the Office of
Personnel Management; and
``(2) consult with the offices and agencies of the
Department of Health and Human Services for the purposes of--
``(A) coordinating public awareness, education, and
screening programs and activities relating to men's
health, with an emphasis on colorectal cancer, prostate
cancer, diabetes, cholesterol, and mental health
screening programs for men identified as being at
increased risk of developing such conditions and
diseases;
``(B) coordinating programs and activities under
title XVIII of the Social Security Act relating to
men's health, including colorectal cancer, prostate
cancer, diabetes, cholesterol, and mental health
screening programs; and
``(C) establishing and maintaining a database of
best practices, clinical guidelines, current clinical
research published, and funded and active requests for
grant proposals in order to promote quality assurance
and improved understanding of clinical issues affecting
men.
``(c) Report.--Not later than two years after the date of the
enactment of this section, the Director shall submit to the Congress a
report describing the activities of such Office, including findings by
the Director regarding men's health.''.
SEC. 4. GUIDANCE.
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall issue guidance
regarding the improvement of men's health outcomes under section 1711
of the Public Health Service Act, as added by section 3, that
includes--
(1) the development of short-range and long-range goals and
objectives within the Department of Health and Human Services,
in coordination with other appropriate offices of the
Department, that relate to disease prevention, health
promotion, service delivery, research, and public and health
care professional education for issues of particular concern to
men throughout their lifespan; and
(2) recommendations for enhancing the Department's outreach
with respect to men's health.
SEC. 5. STUDY AND REPORTS.
(a) OASH Study.--Not later than one year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary for Health of the
Department of Health and Human Services (referred to in this section as
the ``Assistant Secretary''), in collaboration with the Director of the
National Cancer Institute and the Director of the National Institute of
Mental Health, shall conduct a study on the following:
(1) Whether underscreening or underdiagnosis of men's
health issues exist, with emphasis on colorectal cancer,
prostate cancer, mental health, and other health concerns for
which men are at a great risk.
(2) Causes of any such underscreening or underdiagnosis.
(3) Whether men underutilize health services.
(4) Causes of any such underutilization.
(b) OASH Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall submit to the
appropriate committees of Congress a report on the findings of the
study conducted under subsection (a) and include any recommendations
resulting from such findings.
(c) GAO Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States
shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report
detailing the effectiveness of Federal agency outreach with respect to
men's health initiatives.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line