SENATE MEMORIAL 57

50th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2012

INTRODUCED BY

John M. Sapien

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE SECRETARY OF HEALTH TO CONVENE A WORKING GROUP TO STUDY THE CAUSES AND INCIDENCE OF CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE AND REQUESTING THE WORKING GROUP TO RECOMMEND EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES FOR THE PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT OF CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE, INCLUDING INCREASING PUBLIC AWARENESS OF ITS CAUSES AND THE IMPORTANCE OF EARLY DIAGNOSIS.

     WHEREAS, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a largely preventable incurable disease that, if diagnosed, can be treated; and

     WHEREAS, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema, which make emptying air from the lungs progressively more difficult, and is characterized by symptoms such as cough, mucus production, wheezing and breathlessness; and

     WHEREAS, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease may be unrecognized in its early stages as the quality of life for a person suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease gradually diminishes as the disease progresses; and

     WHEREAS, while cigarette smoking is the primary risk factor for developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, there are other risk factors, such as exposure to air pollution, including smoke from poorly ventilated wood stoves and the burning of biomass; secondhand smoke; occupational dusts and chemicals; a history of childhood infections; heredity; and socioeconomic status; and

     WHEREAS, in 2008, more than thirteen million adults in the United States had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease that had been diagnosed, with an equal number remaining undiagnosed, according to the American lung association; and

     WHEREAS, the national center for health statistics of the federal centers for disease control and prevention cites chronic lower respiratory disease, which includes chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma, as the third-leading cause of death in the United States in 2008; and

     WHEREAS, research has consistently shown that patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have exceedingly high rates of hospitalization and emergency room visits, which resulted in one million five hundred thousand emergency room visits and seven hundred twenty-six thousand hospitalizations in 2000; and

     WHEREAS, the American lung association reports that the average chronic obstructive pulmonary disease hospitalization stay lasts slightly longer than four days and costs seventeen thousand sixty-six dollars ($17,066); and

     WHEREAS, a recent study of more than eleven million medicare beneficiaries found chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to be the third most common cause of rehospitalization within thirty days of discharge; and

     WHEREAS, the cost of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in terms of medical expense and lost productivity totals fifty billion dollars ($50,000,000,000) per year in the United States, according to the national heart, lung, and blood institute; and

     WHEREAS, the death rate for women with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has recently surpassed that of men, reflecting increased smoking rates among women, which began in the 1940s, with women over the age of forty being the fastest-growing segment of the population developing this irreversible disease; and

     WHEREAS, the United States department of health and human services has launched a "Healthy People 2020" initiative that includes chronic obstructive pulmonary disease prevention objectives that incorporate prevention and treatment strategies to reduce emergency department admissions, hospitalizations and deaths and that also focus on earlier diagnosis;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the secretary of health be requested to convene a working group composed of representatives of the department of health, the human services department, the Indian affairs department, the university of New Mexico health sciences center, the American lung association, the New Mexico thoracic society, the Lovelace respiratory research institute and public and private third-party payors to study the causes and incidence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in New Mexico; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group be requested to make recommendations with respect to prevention programs and best practices for early diagnosis and management of the disease to reduce costly emergency department admissions and hospitalizations and to investigate sources of funding for related initiatives and research; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group be requested to consider ways to increase public awareness of the causes of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and of the importance of early diagnosis; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group be requested to report its findings and recommendations to the legislative health and human services committee by November 1, 2012; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of health.

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