Senior Prescription Savings

The following was released today by the Democratic National Committee:

has offered tips for the nation's elderly to avoid the health dangers of extreme heat.

A bipartisan group of five senators has written a letter asking Senate leaders to oppose a House-approved bill (HR 6331) to delay implementation of the Medicare competitive bidding program for durable medical equipment, CQ HealthBeat reports. The letter -- addressed to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.

The Senate on Thursday voted 92-6 to approve a supplemental war funding package that includes a domestic spending amendment that would delay the implementation of six new Bush administration Medicaid regulations, CongressDaily reports. President Bush is expected to sign the measure, which passed the House last week. The supplemental package is made up of two amendments -- the first of which provides about $162 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Circadiance launched the revolutionary SleepWeaver Nasal CPAP Mask at the tradeshow of the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, SLEEP 2008, which was held in Baltimore June 9 - 12.

Family physicians statewide warn that the 10.6% Medicare cut in payments to doctors taking effect July 1 puts California's seniors' health on the line. "The Senate's refusal to block the cuts yesterday sounded the death knell for access to physicians for thousands of people in our state," said Jeffrey Luther, MD, president of the 7,000-member California Academy of Family Physicians.

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday approved a $153.1 billion spending bill that would fund the Labor, HHS and Education departments for fiscal year 2009, CQ Today reports. Committee members voted 26-3 to approve the bill (Wayne, CQ Today, 6/27).The bill includes a 25% reduction in funding for community-based abstinence-only education programs to $84.8 million for FY 2009.

The Senate on Thursday voted 92-6 to approve a $257.5 billion supplemental war appropriations bill (HR 2642) with a provision that would delay for one year six new Medicaid regulations proposed by the Bush administration, CongressDaily reports (Sanchez, CongressDaily, 6/27). The House

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) represents a public health problem of substantial magnitude, and remains the leading cause of death due to infectious diseases, with an incidence ranging from 1.6 to 10.6 per 1,000 adults per year in Europe. Owing to demographic changes, elderly patients now represent about 50% of CAP patients in western countries.

Action on Elder Abuse, (AEA) the leading specialist charity focussing upon the abuse of older people, has welcomed today's announcement that the Government is to issue guidance to local authorities restricting them from splitting married elder couples when placing them in care. Gary FitzGerald, Chief Executive of AEA, said "For many older people, the experience of giving up their own homes to go into a care home is a difficult and traumatic one.