Momentum is building for the establishment of a federal Office of Men’s Health, with a bipartisan bill introduced in the House in February. The State of Men’s Health Act, sponsored by Louisiana Democrat Troy Carter and co-sponsored by North Carolina Republican Gregory Murphy, calls for a report on the state of men’s health and the creation of a dedicated office within the Department of Health and Human Services. While similar bills have been introduced in every Congressional session since 2000, the current bill has four sponsors, evenly split between parties, and the American Medical Association endorsed it for the first time.
The movement reflects documented health disparities: with a life expectancy of 75.8 years, American men live on average 5.3 years less than women. Men have higher cancer mortality and die of suicide four times as much as women. Men represent the majority of diabetes patients and are more likely to die from it as well as from other chronic conditions including cardiovascular disease. Overall, U.S. men’s health is worse than women’s across all socioeconomic and racial groups, and their higher mortality and morbidity is estimated to cost federal and local governments more than $140 billion, and close to $160 billion in private costs.
Precedent and Support
The Office of Women’s Health, established in the early 1990s, provides a template for success. In 1990, the Office of Research on Women’s Health was founded within the National Institutes of Health. A year later, an Office on Women’s Health was established within the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Women’s Health Initiative was launched as one of the largest studies of women’s health. In 1994, the FDA established its own Office of Women’s Health. Substantial NIH funding was not specifically allocated to women’s health research until 2024.
Adm. Brian Christine, an HHS assistant secretary for health and a urologist and men’s health expert, has made public comments about commitment to making male health a priority. The American Urological Association worked on drafting the measure, and the AMA’s president-elect, Willie Underwood, is a urologist and men’s health expert. Australia, the U.K., and Ireland have recently passed men’s health initiatives, and Canada is working on it.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.statnews.com/2026/03/12/mens-health-office-proposal-invites-womens-health-comparison/