House Bills - 110th Congress

H. R. 6478 —The Access to America's Orthopedic Services Act of 2008

On July 10, 2008, Representative Hilda Solis (D-CA), introduced, H.R. 6478, the Access to America's Orthopedic Services Act of 2008. The bill contains the following NIH provisions of interest: 1) the Secretary of HHS, in consultation with NIH, would be required to establish, by regulation, criteria for accounting and reporting the percent of effort expended by researchers and funded by NIH and AHRQ on musculoskeletal research, 2) the Secretary of HHS, in consultation with NIH, would be required to prepare a report on the number of new investigators awarded grants for musculoskeletal research, the total amount awarded to those investigators, the percentage of NIH's budget for musculoskeletal research, race and ethnicity of new investigators, and efforts made to encourage individuals from under represented minority groups; 3) the Secretary, in consultation with AHRQ, NIBIB, and CMS, would be required to conduct a cost effectiveness study on bone mass measurements; and 4) the Secretary of HHS, acting through NCHS and in consultation with NIH, would be required to conduct a third longitudinal study on aging in the United States. The bill was jointly referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.