Men’s Health Awareness and Improvement Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4182 To improve men’s health initiatives, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 15, 2023 Mr. PAYNE (for himself and Mr. MCGOVERN) 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 Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Men’s Health Aware- 4 ness and Improvement Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 The Congress finds the following: 7 (1) Risks to the health and well-being of the 8 Nation’s men (and our families) are on the rise due 9 to a lack of education on, awareness of, and pursuit 10 of preventive screening and care. For instance— 11 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:57 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4182.IH H4182 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4182 IH (A) men are leading in 9 out of the top 10 1 causes of death; 2 (B) the lifespan gender gap has expanded 3 to 5.9 years with the average age of death for 4 men being 73.2 years versus 79.1 years for 5 women; and 6 (C) in the United States, men die at an 7 overall rate 1.4 times higher than women. 8 (2) While this health crisis is of particular con- 9 cern to men, it is also a concern for women regard- 10 ing their fathers, husbands, sons, and brothers. 11 (3) Men’s health is a concern to the Federal 12 Government and State governments, which absorb 13 the enormous costs of premature death and dis- 14 ability, including the costs of caring for dependents 15 who are left behind. 16 (4) According to the Social Security Adminis- 17 tration, 16.8 percent of widows 65 years of age or 18 older are impoverished, compared to 4.9 percent of 19 married women 65 years of age or older. 20 (5) Educating men, their families, and health 21 care providers about the importance of early detec- 22 tion of health issues that can impact men, such as 23 cardiovascular disease, mental health, HIV/AIDS, 24 osteoporosis, cancer (lung, prostate, skin, colorectal, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:57 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4182.IH H4182 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4182 IH testicular, and more), and other pertinent health 1 issues, can result in reducing rates of mortality of 2 diseases impacting males, as well as improve the 3 health of the Nation’s males and its overall economic 4 well-being. 5 (6) Of concern is the physical, mental, and 6 emotional well-being of our military men (and 7 women) returning from war zones and our veterans. 8 (7) Recent scientific studies have shown that 9 regular medical exams, preventive screenings, reg- 10 ular exercise, and healthy eating habits can save 11 lives. 12 (8) According to the American Foundation for 13 Suicide Prevention, men are nearly four times as 14 likely to commit suicide. 15 (9) Appropriate use of tests such as prostate 16 cancer screening exams, blood pressure tests, blood 17 glucose testing, lipid panel testing, and colorectal 18 screenings, in conjunction with clinical exams or 19 self-testing, can result in the early detection of many 20 problems and increased survival rates. 21 (10) Men’s health is a concern for employers 22 who pay the costs of medical care and lose produc- 23 tive employees. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:57 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4182.IH H4182 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4182 IH (11) According to the National Cancer Insti- 1 tute, cancer mortality is higher among men than 2 women (185.5 per 100,000 men and 135.7 per 3 100,000 women). 4 (12) In 2020, national expenditures for cancer 5 care in the United States were $208.9 billion. 6 (13) Prostate cancer is the most frequently di- 7 agnosed cancer in the United States among men. 8 One in 9 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer 9 in their lifetime. This year alone, over 288,300 men 10 will be newly diagnosed with prostate cancer and 11 34,700 men with prostate cancer will die. Costs as- 12 sociated with prostate cancer detection and treat- 13 ments were $15.3 billion in 2018 in the United 14 States, and such costs are estimated to increase. 15 Prostate cancer rates increase sharply with age, and 16 more than 90 percent of such cases are diagnosed in 17 men age 55 and older. The incidence of prostate 18 cancer is 50 percent higher in African-American 19 men, who are twice as likely to die from such cancer. 20 There are over 3,100,000 men in the United States 21 living with prostate cancer. 22 (14) It is estimated that, in 2023, approxi- 23 mately 117,500 men in the United States will be di- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:57 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4182.IH H4182 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 4182 IH agnosed with lung cancer, and an estimated 67,160 1 men will die from lung cancer. 2 (15) It is estimated that, in 2023, approxi- 3 mately 82,060 men in the United States will be di- 4 agnosed with colorectal cancer, and 28,470 men will 5 die from colorectal cancer. 6 (16) Men make up over half the diabetes pa- 7 tients aged 18 and over in the United States (18.9 8 million men total) and over 1⁄3 of them don’t know 9 it. Approximately 37.3 million people in the United 10 States are living with diabetes, and men are more 11 likely to die from the disease. In the United States, 12 96 million people aged 18 and older, 45.3 million 13 men, and 50.7 million women have prediabetes. Peo- 14 ple with diagnosed diabetes have medical expendi- 15 tures that are 2.3 times higher than patients with- 16 out diabetes, and the estimated cost of diabetes in 17 2017 was $327 billion. 18 (17) A research study found that premature 19 death and morbidity in men costs Federal, State, 20 and local governments in excess of $142 billion an- 21 nually. It also costs United States employers, and 22 society as a whole, in excess of $156 billion annually 23 and an additional $181 billion annually in decreased 24 quality of life. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:57 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4182.IH H4182 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 4182 IH (18) Over 9,190 men will be diagnosed in 2023 1 with testicular cancer, and 470 of these men will die 2 from this disease. A common reason for delay in 3 treatment of this disease is a delay in seeking med- 4 ical attention after discovering a testicular mass. 5 (19) Men over the past decade have shown 6 poorer health outcomes than women across all racial 7 and ethnic groups as well as socioeconomic status. 8 (20) Healthy fathers can be role models for 9 their children, leading by example, and encouraging 10 them to lead healthy lifestyles. 11 (21) Establishing an Office of Men’s Health is 12 needed to investigate these findings and take further 13 action to promote awareness of men’s health needs. 14 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF MEN’S HEALTH. 15 Title XVII of the Public Health Service Act (42 16 U.S.C. 300u et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 17 the following: 18 ‘‘SEC. 1712. OFFICE OF MEN’S HEALTH. 19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 20 within the Department of Health and Human Services an 21 office to be known as the Office of Men’s Health, which 22 shall be headed by a director to be appointed by the Sec- 23 retary. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:57 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4182.IH H4182 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 4182 IH ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES.—The Director of the Office of 1 Men’s Health shall— 2 ‘‘(1) conduct, support, coordinate, and promote 3 programs and activities to improve the state of 4 men’s health in the United States, including by 5 working with the Department of Veterans Affairs, 6 the Department of Defense, and the Office of Per- 7 sonnel Management; and 8 ‘‘(2) consult with the offices and agencies of the 9 Department of Health and Human Services for the 10 purposes of— 11 ‘‘(A) coordinating public awareness, edu- 12 cation, and screening programs and activities 13 relating to men’s health, with an emphasis on 14 colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, diabetes, cho- 15 lesterol, and mental health screening programs 16 for men identified as being at increased risk of 17 developing such conditions and diseases; 18 ‘‘(B) coordinating programs and activities 19 under title XVIII of the Social Security Act re- 20 lating to men’s health, including colorectal can- 21 cer, prostate cancer, diabetes, cholesterol, and 22 mental health screening programs; and 23 ‘‘(C) establishing and maintaining a data- 24 base of best practices, clinical guidelines, cur- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:57 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4182.IH H4182 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 4182 IH rent clinical research published, and funded and 1 active requests for grant proposals in order to 2 promote high-quality assurance and improved 3 understanding of clinical issues affecting men. 4 ‘‘(c) REPORT.—Not later than two years after the 5 date of the enactment of this section, the Director of the 6 Office of Men’s Health shall submit to the Congress a re- 7 port describing the activities of such Office, including find- 8 ings by the Director regarding men’s health.’’. 9 SEC. 4. GUIDANCE. 10 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact- 11 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human 12 Services shall issue guidance regarding the improvement 13 of men’s health outcomes under section 1712 of the Public 14 Health Service Act, as added by section 3, that includes— 15 (1) the development of short-range and long- 16 range goals and objectives within the Department of 17 Health and Human Services, in coordination with 18 other appropriate offices of the Department, that re- 19 late to disease prevention, health promotion, service 20 delivery, research, and public and health care profes- 21 sional education for issues of particular concern to 22 men throughout their lifespan; and 23 (2) recommendations for enhancing the Depart- 24 ment’s outreach with respect to men’s health. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:57 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4182.IH H4182 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 4182 IH SEC. 5. STUDY AND REPORTS. 1 (a) OASH STUDY.—Not later than one year after the 2 date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary 3 for Health of the Department of Health and Human Serv- 4 ices (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Assistant Sec- 5 retary’’), in collaboration with the Director of the National 6 Cancer Institute and the Director of the National Institute 7 of Mental Health, shall conduct a study on the following: 8 (1) Whether underscreening or underdiagnosis 9 of men’s health issues exist, with emphasis on 10 colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, mental health, 11 and other health concerns for which men are at a 12 great risk. 13 (2) Causes of any such underscreening or 14 underdiagnosis. 15 (3) Whether men underutilize health services. 16 (4) Causes of any such underutilization. 17 (b) OASH REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after 18 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant Sec- 19 retary shall submit to the appropriate committees of Con- 20 gress a report on the findings of the study conducted 21 under subsection (a) and include any recommendations re- 22 sulting from such findings. 23 (c) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the 24 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 25 of the United States shall submit to the appropriate com- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:57 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4182.IH H4182 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 4182 IH mittees of Congress a report detailing the effectiveness of 1 Federal agency outreach with respect to men’s health ini- 2 tiatives. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:57 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4182.IH H4182 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS