Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

In the near future, I plan to introduce a resolution to designate May 2022 as “Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month” in Pennsylvania. 
 

Approximately 54 million Americans have osteoporosis or low bone mass, and studies suggest that approximately 1 in 2 women and up to 1 in 4 men aged 50 and older will break a bone due to osteoporosis. Cancer survivors are at even higher risk, due to the effects of both the cancer and the life-saving medications that treat it. In 2016, 82,000 Medicare beneficiaries in Pennsylvania suffered over 97,000 osteoporotic fractures.  
 

Osteoporosis and the broken bones it can cause are not part of normal aging. Building strong bones begins in childhood and is essential to the prevention of osteoporosis. Care for our bones is important throughout our lives, but we reach our peak bone mass by early adulthood. Optimum bone health and prevention of osteoporosis can be maximized by a balanced diet rich in calcium and vitamin D, weight-bearing and muscle-strengthening exercise, and a healthy lifestyle. Only 35% of American adults consume the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of calcium.   
 

Osteoporosis is often called a silent disease because one can’t feel bones weakening. Breaking a bone is often the first sign of osteoporosis. Timely bone health screening, diagnosis, and treatment can help prevent fractures leading to hospitalization and nursing home stays. Moreover, effective post-fracture care which improves care coordination has been demonstrated to reduce the number of subsequent or repeat fractures yet is not widely available or properly incentivized by Medicare. 
 

It is crucial that we raise awareness about bone health and osteoporosis among the public, health professionals and policy makers.   
 

Please join me in promoting good bone health and osteoporosis prevention by designating May as “Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month” in Pennsylvania.