December 12, 2023 (Arlington, VA) – The Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation (BHOF) is pleased to announce that Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) has been selected to receive the 2023 Congressional Bone Health Champion Award. The national award annually recognizes four Members of Congress who have demonstrated outstanding leadership, advocacy, and commitment to protect and improve the bone health of Americans. BHOF, the leading health organization dedicated to preventing osteoporosis and promoting strong bones for life, presents the awards to highlight the importance of bone health and raise awareness about the osteoporosis crisis in the U.S. The other 2023 winners are Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV) and Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL).
Senator Baldwin is the Chair of the Senate Subcommittee that controls funding for health, education and job training programs. The Subcommittee’s report accompanying its Fiscal Year 2024 funding bill includes report language supporting a BHOF-led effort to improve Medicare payment incentives aiming to assure better care for the 1.8 million seniors on Medicare who suffer one or more osteoporotic fractures. In Wisconsin, 32,000 Medicare beneficiaries suffered over 38,000 osteoporotic fractures in 2016.
“Bone health is essential to our overall quality of life, especially as we age,” said Senator Baldwin. “I am proud to be a partner to the BHOF in our fight to ensure more Americans have the awareness of and access to the care they need to protect their bones and live healthy, fulfilling lives.”
“The importance of bone health and its impact on an individual’s overall health as well as healthcare costs is often overlooked by policymakers,” said Claire Gill, CEO of the Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation. “We greatly appreciate Senator Baldwin’s work to improve care and shed light on what is a crisis in bone health in the United States. We know what needs to be done to address this crisis. There are simple steps Congress and the Biden Administration can take that would greatly improve the care of millions of Americans with osteoporosis.”
Osteoporosis is a growing yet often ignored healthcare problem that disproportionately impacts women. Ten million Americans have osteoporosis and 44 million are at high risk of the disease due to low bone density. According to a 2021 report, two million Medicare beneficiaries (about 70 percent women) suffered up to 2.1 million osteoporotic bone fractures in 2016. For women, the risk of any osteoporotic fracture is greater than their risk of a heart attack, stroke or breast cancer combined. The total annual cost for osteoporotic fractures among Medicare beneficiaries was $57 billion in 2018 and is expected to grow to over $95 billion in 2040 without reforms, as the population ages.
About the Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation
The Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation, formerly the National Osteoporosis Foundation, is the leading health organization dedicated to preventing osteoporosis and broken bones, promoting strong bones for life, and reducing human suffering through programs of public and clinician awareness, education, advocacy and research. Established in 1984, BHOF is the nation’s largest health organization dedicated to osteoporosis and bone health.
Media Contact
Carina May
cmay@bonehealthandosteoporosis.org
Phone: 703-740-1764