Medical and eldercare policy groups are putting pressure on Congress to fund fall-prevention programs. Twenty-two groups including the National Association for Home Care & Hospice are calling on Congress to spend $20 million on fall prevention under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About "1.8 million older adults were treated in emergency departments for injuries from falls, 433,000 were hospitalized, and nearly 16,000 died," the coalition said in a release. "CDC reports the mortality rate from falls among older Americans has increased 39 percent between 1999 and 2005." According to the CDC, more than $19 billion annually is spent on treating the elderly for the adverse effects of falls, the coalition reported.