To express the sense of the Senate regarding the establishment of a nationwide permanent lifestyle modification program for Medicare beneficiaries.

1. Inserts new text at the end of title VI

   Inserts

   In S. 1 · Reported to Senate

   Section 13031(j)(3) of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (19 U.S.C. 58c(j)(3)) is amended by striking "September 30, 2003" and inserting "September 30, 2013". Amend the title so as to read: "A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for a voluntary prescription drug benefit under the medicare program and to strengthen and improve the medicare program, and for other purposes.".

   Inserted: SEC. . SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A NATIONWIDE PERMANENT LIFESTYLE MODIFICATION PROGRAM FOR MEDICARE BENEFICIARIES.

   Inserted: (a) Findings.--Congress finds that:

   Inserted: (1) Heart disease kills more than 500,000 Americans per year.

   Inserted: (2) The number and costs of interventions for the treatment of coronary disease are rising and currently cost the health care system $58,000,000,000 annually.

   Inserted: (3) The Medicare Lifestyle Modification Program has been operating throughout 12 States and has been demonstrated to reduce the need for coronary procedures by 88 percent per year.

   Inserted: (4) The Medicare Lifestyle Modification Program is less expensive to deliver than interventional cardiac procedures and could reduce cardiovascular expenditures by $36,000,000,000 annually.

   Inserted: (5) Lifestyle choices such as diet and exercise affect heart disease and heart disease outcomes by 50 percent or greater.

   Inserted: (6) Intensive lifestyle interventions which include teams of nurses, doctors, exercise physiologists, registered dietitians, and behavioral health clinicians have been demonstrated to reduce heart disease risk factors and enhance heart disease outcomes dramatically.

   Inserted: (7) The National Institutes of Health estimates that 17,000,000 Americans have diabetes and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the number of Americans who have a diagnosis of diabetes increased 61 percent in the last decade and is expected to more than double by 2050.

   Inserted: (8) Lifestyle modification programs are superior to medication therapy for treating diabetes.

   Inserted: (9) Individuals with diabetes are now considered to have coronary disease at the date of diagnosis of their diabetic state.

   Inserted: (10) The Medicare Lifestyle Modification Program has been an effective lifestyle program for the reversal and treatment of heart disease.

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   Inserted: (11) Men with prostate cancer have shown significant improvement in prostate cancer markers using a similar approach in lifestyle modification.

   Inserted: (12) These lifestyle changes are therefore likely to affect other chronic disease states, in addition to heart disease.

   Inserted: (b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate that--

   Inserted: (1) the Secretary of Health and Human Services should carry out the demonstration project known as the Lifestyle Modification Program Demonstration, as described in the Health Care Financing Administration Memorandum of Understanding entered into on November 13, 2000, on a permanent basis;

   Inserted: (2) the project should include as many Medicare beneficiaries as would like to participate in the project on a voluntary basis; and

   Inserted: (3) the project should be conducted on a national basis.

   Original wording

   At the end of title VI, insert the following:

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As printed