GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1999

H	1 

HOUSE BILL 313

Short Title:  Osteoporosis Program.	(Public)

─────────────────────────────────────── 
Sponsors: Representatives Boyd-McIntyre; Mosley, Wainwright, Alexander, Insko, and Jeffus.

─────────────────────────────────────── 
Referred to:  Public Health, if favorable, Appropriations.

─────────────────────────────────────── 

March 4, 1999

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A PROGRAM TO RAISE PUBLIC AWARENESS ABOUT THE PREVENTION, DIAGNOSIS, AND TREATMENT OF OSTEOPOROSIS, AND TO CONTINUE THE OSTEOPOROSIS TASK FORCE.
Whereas, osteoporosis, a bone-thinning disease, is a major public health problem that poses a threat to the health and quality of life of over one million North Carolinians age 50 and over; and
Whereas, each year, more than 13,000 North Carolinians are hospitalized for hip fractures alone resulting in more than $57 million in direct medical costs; and
Whereas, one of two women and one of eight men will suffer an osteoporitic fracture in his or her lifetime; and
Whereas, because osteoporosis progresses silently and currently has no cure, prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment are key to reducing the prevalence of this disease; and
Whereas, many consumers, physicians, health care providers, and government agencies lack knowledge in the prevention, detection, and treatment of the disease; and
Whereas, experts in the field of osteoporosis believe that with greater awareness among medical experts, service providers, and the general public, osteoporosis can be prevented in the future, thereby reducing its prevalence, severity, and costly consequences; Now, therefore,
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.(a) Article 7 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes is amended by adding the following new Part to read:
"Part 6.  Osteoporosis.
"§ 130A-224. Department to establish program; report required.
(a)	The Department shall establish and administer a program to raise public awareness about the incidence, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of osteoporosis.  The program shall include the following:
(1)	Activities to raise public awareness and educate people on the causes and nature of osteoporosis, personal risk factors, value and methods of prevention and early detection, and options for diagnosing and treating the disease, including diagnostic procedures, benefits of approved drug therapies, and the availability of self-help diagnostic, treatment, and rehabilitation services.
(2)	Identification and assessment of the following:
a.	Research being conducted in this State and on a national basis;
b.	Availability of technical assistance, educational materials, and programs in the State and nationwide;
c.	Needs of osteoporosis patients and their families and caregivers;
d.	Health promotion, diagnosis, and treatment services available to osteoporosis patients;
e.	Existence of osteoporosis treatment programs and support groups; and
f.	Locations of health facilities providing bone mass measurement and other bone density testing equipment and methods.
(3)	Strategies for educating and training health professionals on the most up-to-date scientific and medical information on osteoporosis prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, therapeutic decision making, including guidelines for detecting and treating the disease in special populations, risks and benefits of medications, and research advances.
(4)	Strategies for identifying at-risk populations and targeting those populations to enhance awareness about early detection, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of osteoporosis.
(b)	In developing the osteoporosis program authorized under this section, the Department shall review the duties and activities of other health-related programs in the Department and in other State agencies to maximize coordination and minimize duplication of effort.
(c)	The Department shall report annually to the Governor and to the General Assembly on activities conducted under the osteoporosis program and the results of the activities."
Section 1.(b) There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Health and Human Services, the sum of three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) for the 1999-2000 fiscal year and the sum of three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) for the 2000-2001 fiscal year for implementing the osteoporosis program established under this section.
Section 2.  Subsection (m) of Section 15.32 of S.L. 1997-443 is repealed.
Section 3. This act becomes effective July 1, 1999.