Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Hearings held.
This bill creates a new federal advisory committee focused on preventing older Americans from falling and getting injured. The committee would study all existing federal programs related to falls prevention, develop a national plan, and recommend changes, including a possible Medicare pilot program that covers home modifications to reduce falls. If this passes, the government would coordinate its falls prevention work across many agencies and report to Congress every four years on progress.
Falls are the leading cause of injury-related death for Americans 65 and older, sending millions to emergency rooms each year. This bill would push the federal government to coordinate its scattered prevention efforts and could open the door to Medicare covering grab bars, ramp installations, and other home safety changes for at least 20,000 older adults.