CHICAGO — The prices for about 200 prescription drugs commonly used by seniors in the United States rose nearly twice the rate of inflation, a seniors group said on Tuesday, making a case for letting the government negotiate drug prices. Insomnia pill Ambien, made by Sanofi-Aventis, topped the list, with a 30 percent rise in price in 2006, said the report by the seniors’ lobby AARP, formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons. AARP, which lobbies for 38 million Americans over the age of 50, used the report to support an effort to give the federal Medicare agency the authority to negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies. Medicare is the federal health insurance program for about 43 million elderly and disabled. ‘We need to send a loud and clear message to the pharmaceutical industry that Americans cannot afford to continue to pay the highest prices for prescription drugs in the world,’ said David Sloane, senior managing director for government relations. Backing from AARP was key in the passage of the law in 2003 adding a prescription drug benefit to the Medicare program, which since its inception in 1965 did not cover drugs. The […]
Teenagers who claim that stress makes them break out are telling the truth: The stress of taking an exam can make pimples worse, researchers have reported. And surprisingly, inflammation may be to blame and not greasy skin, said Gil Yosipovitch, a professor of dermatology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine ‘A lot of our patients mention that when they are stressed, their acne gets worse,’ Yosipovitch said in a telephone interview. But which comes first – the pimples or the stress? Bacteria are often blamed for the inflammation that causes pimples. Yosipovitch and his colleagues set up a test to find out if stress contributes, too. They recruited 94 students in Singapore, where the climate is stable, to rule out potential weather factors. The students, with an average age of just under 15, were undergoing an annual exam that determines whether they can go on to university, or must go into a less rigourous programme. The students completed a questionnaire widely used in stress research, once just before mid-year exams and during the summer break. Dermatologists assessed whether the students’ acne worsened. Exam time clearly made for breakouts, the researchers reported […]
The abysmal conditions at the Army’s Walter Reed hospital reflect an appalling lack of respect for men and women who suffered grievous injuries fighting for this country. They also show what can happen when an outsourcing project goes awry. In January of last year, the U.S. Army awarded a support contract to IAP Worldwide Services, a well connected contractor whose CEO, Al Neffgen, is a former executive at Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root. Under the $120 million deal, IAP is to provide administrative, managerial and operational support services at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., through 2011. I have no reason to believe that IAP is not fully capable of providing the services specified, though the company reportedly had difficulty fulfilling an earlier contract to deliver ice to Hurricane Katrina victims. What is becoming apparent is that Army officials did not properly supervise Walter Reed’s transition from a facility served by in-house workers to one that contracts out for basic services. Last September, Walter Reed Garrison Commander Peter Garibaldi sent a revealing memo to Colonel Daryl Spencer, the Assistant Chief of Staff for Resource Management with the U.S. Army Medical Command. In that memo, […]
Are you a paragon of blissful serenity or a negative Nancy, fretting your way through life? Sort yourself out with our top tips… Scientific research is providing conclusive evidence to support the fact that positive thoughts and feelings help build a strong and healthy immune system. And if we want to remain in blooming health, we should all be changing our attitude. To give your immune system a healthy boost, here are six emotional areas that research studies have now recognised as key factors. Friendship Don’t be a loner – positive contact with others keeps us healthy and happy. Just being able to talk over everyday problems with a friend can be beneficial in warding off more serious problems like depression on insomnia. Scientists at University of Adelaide found that a strong network of friends significantly improves chances of survival. Monitoring 1,500 over-70s about their level of contact with children, relatives and friends over a ten-year period, close family contact had little effect on longevity compared to friendship. Dr Lorna Layward, research manager for Help the Aged, says: ‘As we get older we may […]
U.S. Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark., visited Hope Airport Saturday afternoon in support of homeless tornado victims from Dumas, Ark., to receive federal aid and shelter. ‘I’m here at the Hope Airport where there are brand new, fully furnished trailers to be used during disaster situations,’ said Ross, who reminded media that the tornados in Dumas were worthy of an Arkansas state declaration of disaster and a deployment by the National Guard. Some 9,000 trailers owned by the Federal Emergency Management Agency are stored at Hope Airport, less than a three-hour drive from Dumas and Desha County where tornado victims are without homes. ‘It has been one week since the tornadoes hit and not one employee from FEMA, not one, has stepped foot in Desha County,’ Ross said. Ross was critical of President Bush and FEMA and said the federal government has been slow to declare a disaster in tornado-struck eastern Arkansas. ‘My heart goes out to the people in Alabama and Georgia who were just hit by more deadly tornadoes, but FEMA must not forget Desha County, where last Saturday, more than 150 homes were destroyed or received heavy damage and 800 people are now […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
