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Week Ending June 18, 2004

HR 3658 Stroke Treatment and Ongoing Prevention Act

BRIEF

   The bill would direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and implement an education and information campaign to promote stroke prevention and to increase the number of stroke patients who seek immediate treatment.

   The Secretary could make public service announcements about the warning signs of stroke and the importance of treating stroke as a medical emergency and provide education regarding ways to prevent stroke and the effectiveness of stroke treatment.   

   State grants would be available to find experts in stroke treatment who would work with ‘tele-health’ networks for treatment assistance to establish collaborative activities for stroke treatment, improve access to high-quality stroke care and evaluate efforts. Grants would also fund training for appropriate individuals.

Sponsor: Representative Lois Capps (D-CA)

Vote: Passed House by voice vote.

Cost to the taxpayers: $5 million each year from 2005 through 2009 is authorized to be appropriated. The CBO said that the grants to states and other public and private entities to develop medical professional training programs and telehealth networks would be authorized at $14 million in 2005 and $70 million over the 2005-2009 period. CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 3658 would cost $6 million in 2005 and a total of $81 million from 2005 through 2009.

MORE INFORMATION

   The committee report recognized stroke as the third leading cause of death in America and a major contributor to long-term disability. Two kinds of stroke occur and both are debilitating. When the blood supply to part of the brain is suddenly interrupted the stroke is ischemic. When a blood vessel in the brain bursts, spilling blood into the spaces surrounding the brain cells it is hemorrhagic.

   The symptoms of stroke include sudden numbness or weakness on one side of the body, difficulty seeing, and loss of balance or coordination the report said but not all patients suffering a stroke seek help in a timely manner. With a stroke, brain cells can be destroyed but timely treatment within a few hours can actually save the cells.

   The American Heart Association reports that 700,000 Americans suffer from a stroke each year and nearly 170,000 die annually. They estimate that on average someone suffers a stroke every 45 seconds and every 3 minutes someone dies from a stroke.

   The bill reauthorizes the Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Registry and Clearinghouse at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at $5 million yearly.

  Grants would be targeted to public and non-profits to plan, develop and enhance residency training and other training programs to improve stroke and traumatic injury prevention, treatment, diagnosis and rehabilitation. Other grants would go to public and private entities to develop and implement education programs for healthcare professionals to use newly developed diagnosis approaches, technologies and therapies to treat stroke or traumatic injury

   The second grant program authorizes the Secretary make grants to a consortium of public and private entities for the development and implementation of education programs for appropriate health care professionals in the use of newly developed diagnostic approaches, technologies, and therapies to treat stroke or traumatic injury.

   Under tele-health there would be seven grants and the recipients would be required:

To identify entities with expertise in the delivery of high-quality stroke prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation;

To work with these entities to establish or improve telehealth networks to provide stroke treatment assistance and resources to health care professionals, hospitals, and other individuals and entities that serve stroke patients;

To inform emergency medical systems of the location of entities identified to facilitate appropriate transportation;

To establish networks to coordinate collaborative activities for stroke prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation;  

To improve access to high-quality stroke care, especially for populations with a shortage of stroke care specialists and populations with a high incidence of stroke; and,

To conduct ongoing performance and quality evaluations to identify collaborative activities that improve clinical outcomes for stroke patients.

   The Secretary may not award a grant to a state unless the state agrees to establish a consortium of public and private entities to carry out the activities of the grantor or unless the State has an existing tele-health network that is or may be used for the purposes of the grant unless the state agrees to use the existing tele-health network to achieve the purpose of the grant and the state will not establish a separate network for the same purpose.## All Rights Reserved. No reproduction or distribution without written permission from TheWeekInCongress.com