Alexza's agitation drug gets FDA approval

 Alexza Pharmaceuticals Inc said the U.S. health regulators approved Adasuve, making it the first treatment for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder that can be inhaled.
Adasuve, which delivers an older antipsychotic drug called loxapine, passes through the lungs and into the bloodstream faster than a typical pill. Loxapine is available as an oral drug for schizophrenia.
The company said the product will include a boxed safety warning about potentially dangerous side effects including the potential for fatal bronchial spasms in people with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder and a higher risk of death in elderly people with dementia-related psychosis.
Adasuve use will be restricted to mitigate the potential harm of bronchial spasms, Alexza said.
The FDA also required Alexza to conduct a large post- marketing clinical trial of patients to assess the real-world use of the drug.
"We believe that the ability to deliver medications rapidly and non-invasively will be important for patients and the professionals who care for them," Chief Executive Thomas King said in the statement.
Three injectable drugs, Bristol-Myers Squibb's Abilify, Eli Lilly's Zyprexa and Pfizer Inc's Geodon, are currently approved to calm patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.
Adasuve, Alexza's most advanced drug, will be available for commercial launch early in the third quarter of 2013, the company said.
Earlier this month, European health regulators recommended approval of Adasuve.
The FDA denied approval to Adasuve in May, after it found deficiencies at the company's Mountain View, California manufacturing facility during an inspection.
The company's shares fell 12 percent in the after market trading after the trade was halted at $5.79 before the drug- approval announcement.

Read More..

Lawmakers play waiting game with 'fiscal cliff' deadline in sight

 With only a week left before a deadline for the United States to go over a "fiscal cliff," lawmakers played a waiting game on Monday in the hope that someone will produce a plan to avoid harsh budget cuts and higher taxes for most Americans from New Year's Day.
Though Republicans and Democrats have spent the better part of a year describing a plunge off the cliff as a looming catastrophe, the nation's capital showed no outward signs of worry, let alone impending calamity.
The White House has set up shop in Hawaii, where President Barack Obama is vacationing.
The Capitol was deserted and the Treasury Department - which would have to do a lot of last-minute number-crunching with or without a deal - was closed.
So were all other federal government offices, with Obama having followed a tradition of declaring the Monday before a Tuesday Christmas a holiday for government employees, notwithstanding the approaching fiscal cliff.
Expectations for some 11th-hour rescue focused largely on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, in part because he has performed the role of legislative wizard in previous stalemates.
But McConnell, who is up for re-election in 2014, was shunning the role this year, his spokesman saying that it was now up to the Democrats in the Senate to make the next move.
"We don't yet know what Senator Reid will bring to the floor. He is not negotiating with us and the president is out of town," said McConnell's spokesman, referring to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat. "So I just don't know what they're going to do over there," he said.
Two-day-old tweets on leadership websites told the story insofar as it was visible to the public.
House Speaker John Boehner's referred everyone to McConnell. McConnell's tweet passed the responsibility along to Obama, saying it was a "moment that calls for presidential leadership."
Reid's tweet said: "There will be very serious consequences for millions of families if Congress fails to act" on the cliff.
The next session of the Senate is set for Thursday, but the issues presented by across-the-board tax hikes and indiscriminate reductions in government spending, were not on the calendar.
The House has nothing on its schedule for the week, but members have been told they could be called back at 48 hours notice, making a Thursday return a theoretical possibility.
However, aides to the Republican leaders in Congress said there were no talks with Democrats on Monday and none scheduled after negotiations fell off track last week when Boehner failed to persuade House Republicans to accept tax increases on incomes of more than $1 million a year.
"Nothing new, Merry Christmas," an aide to Boehner responded when asked if there was any movement on the fiscal cliff.
But a senior Obama administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said White House aides were talking with Senate Democratic staffers about the situation.
SCALED-BACK EXPECTATIONS
If there is some last-minute legislation, Republicans and Democrats agreed on Sunday news shows that it will not be any sort of "grand bargain" encompassing taxes and spending cuts, but most likely a short-term deal putting everything off for a few weeks or months, thereby risking a negative market reaction.
A limited agreement would still need bipartisan support, as Obama has said he would veto a bill that does not raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans.
On Monday, Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison urged fellow Republicans to be flexible.
"We're now at a point where we're not going to get what we think is right for our economy and our country because we don't control government. So we've got to work within the system we have," she told MSNBC.
Two bills in Congress could conceivably form the basis for a last-minute stopgap measure.
Last spring, Republicans in the House passed a measure that would extend Bush-era tax cuts for everyone, reflecting the party's deep reluctance to increase taxes.
The Democratic-controlled Senate passed a bill in August, extending lower tax rates for everyone except the wealthiest Americans - a group defined at that point as households with a net income of $250,000 or above. Obama has since increased that to $400,000 a year, in an effort to win Republican support.
Analysts say Democrats might be able to get the backing of enough Republicans in both the House and Senate, especially if they are willing to raise the number to $500,000.
Under that scenario, lawmakers might also put off spending cuts of $109 billion that would take effect from January and agree to Republican demands for cuts in entitlement programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, the government-run health insurance plans for seniors and the poor.
However, with only a few work days left in Congress after Christmas, there is a good chance that no deal can be worked out and tax rates would then go up, at least briefly, until an agreement is reached in Washington.
"We may go off the cliff on January 1, but we would correct that very quickly thereafter," Democratic Representative John Yarmuth told MSNBC.
The prospects of the United States going over the fiscal cliff dampened enthusiasm on Wall Street for a "Santa rally" in the holiday season, when stocks traditionally rise.
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 51.76 points, or 0.39 percent, in Monday's shortened holiday session.
Failure to work out tax rates in the coming days would cause chaos at the Internal Revenue Service, said analyst Chris Krueger of Guggenheim Securities.
"Next weekend is going to be a total, total debacle," he said. The IRS is unlikely to have enough time to revise its tables for withholding taxes.
"The withholding tables are sort of like an aircraft carrier, you can't turn the thing on a dime." he said.

Read More..

UCB gets Japan clearance for two new drugs

Belgian pharmaceutical company UCB has secured two regulatory clearances in Japan, further cementing its worldwide shift to a new generation of drugs.
The company said in a statement on Tuesday that the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare had approved UCB's Neupro patch to treat Parkinson's disease and moderate-to-severe Restleg Legs Syndrome in adults.
Otsuka Pharmaceutical has the exclusive rights for developing and marketing Neupro in Japan, with UCB responsible in all other regions worldwide. Neupro is available in 35 countries.
In a separate statement on Tuesday, UCB said its drug Cimzia had been approved in Japan for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in adults.
UCB is jointly developing the drug there with Astellas Pharma Inc, with UCB manufacturing it and Astellas managing distribution and sales. UCB said it would receive an unspecified milestone payment from Astellas.
Cimzia is currently being sold in over 30 countries, including the United States and in Europe.
UCB, a central nervous system and immunology specialist, is placing its hopes on three new drugs - Cimzia, Neupro and epilepsy treatment Vimpat - as previous blockbuster Keppra, also for epilepsy, faces patent expiries.

Read More..

One in 12 in military has clogged heart arteries

Just over one in 12 U.S. service members who died in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars had plaque buildup in the arteries around their hearts - an early sign of heart disease, according to a new study.
None of them had been diagnosed with heart disease before deployment, researchers said.
"This is a young, healthy, fit group," said the study's lead author, Dr. Bryant Webber, from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland.
"These are people who are asymptomatic, they feel fine, they're deployed into combat," he told Reuters Health.
"It just proves again the point that we know that this is a clinically silent disease, meaning people can go years without being diagnosed, having no signs or symptoms of the disease."
Webber said the findings also show that although the U.S. has made progress in lowering the nationwide prevalence of heart disease, there's more work that can be done to encourage people to adopt a healthy lifestyle and reduce their risks.
Heart disease accounts for about one in four deaths - or about 600,000 Americans each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The new data come from autopsies done on U.S. service members who died in October 2001 through August 2011 during combat or from unintentional injuries. Those autopsies were originally performed to provide a full account to service members' families of how they died.
The study mirrors autopsy research on Korean and Vietnam war veterans, which found signs of heart disease in as many as three-quarters of deceased service members at the time.
"Earlier autopsy studies... were critical pieces of information that alerted the medical community to the lurking burden of coronary disease in our young people," said Dr. Daniel Levy, director of the Framingham Heart Study and a senior investigator with the National Institutes of Health.
The findings are not directly comparable, in part because there was a draft in place during the earlier wars but not for Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom/New Dawn. When service is optional, healthier people might be more likely to sign up, researchers explained.
Still, Levy said the new study likely reflects declines in heart disease in the U.S. in general over that span.
Altogether the researchers had information on 3,832 service members who'd been killed at an average age of 26. Close to 9 percent had any buildup in their coronary arteries, according to the autopsies. And about a quarter of the soldiers with buildup in their arteries had severe blockage.
Service members who had been obese or had high cholesterol or high blood pressure when they entered the military were especially likely to have plaque buildup, Webber and his colleagues reported Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
More than 98 percent of the service members included were men.
"This study bodes well for a lower burden of disease lurking in young people," Levy, who wrote an editorial published with the report, told Reuters Health.
"Young, healthy people are likely to have a lower burden of disease today than their parents or grandparents had decades ago."
That's likely due, in part, to better control of blood pressure and cholesterol and lower rates of smoking in today's service members - as well as the country in general, researchers said.
However, two risks for heart disease that haven't declined are obesity and diabetes, which are closely linked.
"Obesity is the one that has not trended in the right direction," Levy said.
"Those changes in obesity and diabetes threaten to reverse some of the dramatic improvements that we are seeing in heart disease death rates," he added.

Read More..

World's biggest Titanic attraction opens in Belfast

The largest Titanic visitor attraction in the world opened in the ship's Belfast birthplace on Saturday, some 100 years after the doomed liner was built in the same yards.

Almost 100,000 tickets for Titanic Belfast, a striking aluminium-clad building which tells the famous ship's story through special effects, interactive screens and a ride, have been sold ahead of the opening.

Organisers hope the £97 million ($155 million, 116 million euro) centre can boost tourism in the British province, which was torn apart by sectarian strife for three decades until the late 1990s.

"We want to bring people to Northern Ireland not just to see what a generation 100 years ago were able to achieve, but what this generation can achieve in this new era of peace," said First Minister Peter Robinson.

Cyril Quigley, a 105-year-old who watched the Titanic's launch more than a century ago, joined the province's leaders at the opening of the building, which takes the form of four of the ship's huge prows.

"All I saw was this big thing sliding out into the water," Quigley said as he recalled watching with his parents. "I was only four and half."

Quigley said the new centre, which rose from the derelict Harland and Wolff shipyard, was "wonderful".

"I often thought they would make another plastic ship here and have it as a restaurant or something, but this is fantastic," he said. "It's like our Sydney Opera House."

The biggest, most ambitious ship of the age hit an iceberg on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic Ocean from Southampton to New York, sinking on April 15, 1912. Of the 2,224 people aboard, 1,514 perished.

Organisers hope the six-storey Titanic Belfast, which also features a banqueting space containing a replica of the ship's grand staircase, will attract 425,000 visitors in its first year, including many from Asia.

Read More..

US late-night host Conan O'Brien shares his workout playlist

This week, famed American late-night talk show host Conan O'Brien shared his favorite music for staying motivated in the gym.

While not known for his rock-hard gym body, O'Brien is a fitness fan and music lover, and he released his top 16 playlist of gym-friendly tunes as part of his weekly series for streaming service Rdio's Guest DJ.

Here is Conan's playlist or in certain countries, stream it here at Rdio.

1. Vampire Weekend, "A-Punk"
2. The Dovells, "You Can't Sit Down"
3. Cheap Trick, "Dream Police"
4. The Raconteurs, "Steady, As She Goes"
5. Jay-Z, "99 Problems"
6. The Police, "So Lonely"
7. Kings of Leon, "Use Somebody"
8. Ronnie Hawkins, "Forty Days"
9. The Who, "The Real Me"
10. Naughty by Nature, "Everything's Gonna Be Alright"
11. Thin Lizzy, "The Boys Are Back in Town"
12. The Brian Setzer Orchestra, "Jump Jive An' Wail"
13. Electric Six, "Danger! High Voltage (Soulchild Radio Mix)"
14. Green Day, "Basket Case"
15. Boz Scaggs, "Lido Shuffle"
16. Elvis Presley, "Promised Land"

Read More..

Healthy Hollywood: Get Movin' Monday - A Toning Must For 50-Plus Women!

Who says everything goes south after 50? Just look at the rock-solid bodies of Madonna, Christie Brinkley, and Sharon Stone and you know mature women can be and are hotter than ever.

The celebrity magnet, Physique 57, (a favorite toning regimen of Kelly Ripa & Sofia Vergara) has put together a new class/workout for women over 50. "Our 'Fit for Life' classes are small group training sessions (limited to 10 participants) that we developed to meet the specific needs of women fifty and over. These one-hour classes are done twice a week over a four-week period, combine low impact strength training exercises, light cardio, and stretches that are designed to create strong, lean, supple, muscles leaving participants feeling more energized, confident, and youthful," Physique 57 co-founder, Tanya Becker.

Once the ladies finish the four-week session, they'll be up to speed and ready to join the other classes. It's important that older women are extra careful and do the exercises with the proper form since they are more prone to injuries, says Tanya, "Exercises should be modified appropriately, however, you still want to challenge your muscles otherwise you won't achieve your desired results. Physique 57's exercises are non-jarring on the joints (no jumping or pounding), which is also very important to avoid any injuries while still getting a great workout."

Tanya helped create the groundbreaking workout that combines interval training with toning exercises. For now, Physique 57 studios are only in New York and LA, but the training center just released a book, "The Physique 57 Solution: Lose Up To 10 Inches Fast" and there are workout DVDs, so women everyone can learn this celebrity-endorsed secret to a long and lean body.

Physique 57 shares with Healthy Hollywood 4 good reasons to exercise - especially as you age!

1. As we age, our metabolic rate slows down which can lead to extra body fat.

The more lean muscle you have, the more calories you'll burn all day long. Also, the less weight you have to carry on your body, the less stress there will be on your joints- not to mention how fabulous you'll look and feel!

2. Decrease your risk of osteoporosis and loss of bone density.

Keeping your muscles toned and strong will keep your bones strong. You'll be able to stand taller and exude confidence and grace.

3. Reduce your risk of injuries.

Whether you enjoy playing golf, tennis, or just want to stay active for many years, you want a youthful supple body to enjoy life.

4. Keep a good attitude.

When you're healthy and fit, you feel good about yourself. Plus, chances are you'll be less prone to depression and have a more positive perspective on life!

Read More..

How health care law affects lives of 7 Americans

CHICAGO (AP) — A father lost his job at a medical device company  that is facing a new tax. A young woman got back on her parents' insurance and was able to get surgery for an injury that could have hobbled her. A part-time sales woman stopped putting off a colonoscopy and cancer screenings and saved nearly $3,000 because health plans now must pay for preventive care without co-pays. A business owner received a tax rebate for providing health coverage to her employees.

As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments on President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, The Associated Press spoke with a variety of people to hear their experiences so far with the landmark legislation, whose major provisions don't take effect until 2014. Reporters asked: How has the health care law affected your life?

Here are snapshots of seven Americans:

___

Name: Michael Esch

Home: Warwick, N.Y.

Age: 48

Occupation: Former middle manager for medical device company, now working as a hospital purchasing agent.

Insurance coverage: Paying out of his own pocket for COBRA insurance through his former company.

Esch, a father of three, lost his job in November in a layoff his employer said resulted from President Barack Obama's health care law. Medical device maker Stryker Corp. announced in November it intended to lay off 1,000 workers worldwide to save money ahead of a 2.3 percent tax on medical devices that starts in 2013.

The tax on medical devices is meant to help pay for expanding health coverage to uninsured Americans. The Obama administration argues device companies will gain in the long run as more patients become eligible to receive their products because they have insurance.

Esch was a middle manager who had worked for Stryker for six years. He helped develop a product known as the Triathlon Knee. Since the layoff, he's taken a salary cut to work as a hospital purchasing agent. He's still looking for a job with another medical device company.

He blames the medical device tax for the loss of his job, but he's grateful for the provision in the health care law that will allow his oldest child, now a college sophomore, to stay on his health insurance to age 26.

"We tend to forget that for every great idea there is a ripple effect through other sectors of a business," Esch said.

Economists say most companies should be able to pass on the bulk of the tax to customers, but the industry says it will squeeze profits and chill investment, hiring and innovation.

___

Name: Glenn Nishimura

Home: Little Rock, Ark.

Age: 62

Occupation: Consultant to nonprofit groups.

Insurance coverage: Uninsured since COBRA coverage from a previous job expired in May of 2009.

Nishimura has been uninsured for nearly three years. He lost his health coverage after he left a full-time position with benefits in 2007, thinking he could land another good job. The recession destroyed that plan.

He's been denied coverage because of high blood pressure and high blood-sugar levels. A provision in the national health care law gave his state $46 million to insure people like him who've been denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions.

But Nishimura said he can't afford the coverage. It would cost him about $6,300 a year in premiums with a $1,000 deductible, meaning he would pay the first $1,000 out of his own pocket before coverage kicks in.

He worries about suffering injuries in a car accident or falling ill before he's eligible for Medicare at age 65.

"I don't like feeling vulnerable like this," Nishimura said. "I'm completely vulnerable to some catastrophic problem."

Nationally, about 50,000 people with pre-existing conditions have signed up for the coverage available through the health care law, fewer than expected. The government has offered new options to encourage more to enroll. In another two years, he may be eligible for subsidies under the law for insurance.

___

Name: Samantha Ames

Home: Washington, D.C.

Age: 25

Occupation: Law student

Insurance coverage: Got back on parents' insurance, thanks to the health care law.

As a teenager, Ames was prone to ankle injuries playing catcher on baseball and softball teams. Last April, she tripped over her mini bulldog and badly injured her left ankle. Ultimately she needed surgery that cost her insurer $30,000.

But she considers herself lucky.

Only a few months before her accident, Ames had been able to get back on her parents' insurance, thanks to a provision of the health care law that lets young adults keep that coverage until they turn 26. Nationally an estimated 2.5 million young people have gotten insurance as a result.

Ames says it's unclear if the student health insurance she had been relying on previously would have covered her surgery. In any case, the copayments would have been steep. She would have had to postpone the operation, risking another — potentially crippling — injury.

"The fact that I was able to get on their plan is the reason I can walk today," said Ames. "Very rarely have I had something political affect me this personally."

___

Name: Sharon Whalen

Home: Springfield, Ill.

Age: 59

Occupation: Publisher of a weekly alternative newspaper

Insurance coverage: Small group plan.

As a co-owner of the Illinois Times, a weekly newspaper, Whalen wants to keep her small staff healthy. So she and her business partner provide them with health insurance and pay half the cost of premiums for their 10 employees.

Keeping that employee benefit is getting more and more expensive. The company saw a spike in premium costs after one employee's child had chronic health problems.

With costs climbing, the company switched to a managed care plan with higher copays for some services in 2009. Whalen's company also contributes less than it once did to cover the premiums of employees' family members.

The health care law brought some relief: a tax credit for small businesses that provide health coverage. The Illinois Times qualified and received a $2,700 tax credit last year.

"We see ourselves putting that money right back into the company," Whalen said.

Whalen heard about the tax credit from a health care advocacy group, not from her accountant.

"I had to practically beg them to look at this," Whalen said. "They weren't familiar with it."

The Obama administration has proposed expanding the number of businesses eligible for the credit, and simplifying the paperwork.

___

Name: Melissa Pearson

Home: Prineville, Ore.

Age: 53

Occupation: Retail sales, part time.

Insurance coverage: High-deductible plan purchased on individual market.

A few years ago, Pearson's doctor ordered her to have a routine colonoscopy. It's one of several colon cancer screening methods highly recommended for adults ages 50 to 75.

Pearson kept putting it off, in part because of the cost. Her high-deductible health insurance plan requires her to pay the first $5,600 out of her pocket each year. She knew the colonoscopy would be expensive and figured she'd be paying.

Then she learned that a provision in the health care law requires health plans to cover all costs for preventive care including colon cancer screening — with no out-of-pocket costs to the patient.

"That's what made me make the appointment," she said. She also scheduled a mammogram and cervical cancer screening, which also are covered preventive services under the law. In all, she saved nearly $3,000 in out-of-pocket costs last year because of the Affordable Care Act.

"I said to my sister, 'Thank you Obamacare," Pearson said.

The Obama administration says the Affordable Care Act provided about 54 million Americans with at least one new free preventive service last year through their private health insurance plans.

But Pearson is worried that covering preventive services will mean her insurance premiums and her taxes will go up. "It's being paid for by somebody," she reasoned. She recently talked with a student from Norway who told her about the tax levels in that country. "I'm fearful our world will turn into that."

___

Name: David Zoltan

Home: Chicago

Age: 34

Occupation: Field marketing coordinator for a public relations firm.

Insurance coverage: Federally funded health plan for people with pre-existing conditions.

Zoltan lost a job and his health insurance during the recession. His diabetes sent him to the emergency room three times when he ran out of insulin during the two years he was uninsured.

In 2010, he was one of the first to sign up in Illinois for a new health insurance program for people with pre-existing conditions. The Affordable Care Act set aside $196 million for the state of Illinois to start the program.

Zoltan now pays about $1,848 a year for that coverage. The plan has a $2,000 deductible, meaning Zoltan also pays that amount out of pocket before the coverage starts.

Zoltan has found work, but his new job doesn't include health benefits, so he'll stay on the federally funded health plan.

"As a diabetic, I never again want to be without health insurance," Zoltan said. "Anything is better than not having coverage at all."

He is watching the Supreme Court as it considers the law. The requirement that Americans buy health insurance is under constitutional scrutiny. Zoltan believes the individual mandate is needed to spread the risk among the well and the sick, and keep insurance affordable.

___

Name: Carol McKenna

Home: Pembroke Pines, Fla.

Age: 70

Occupation: Retired.

Insurance coverage: Medicare Advantage plan.

McKenna and her husband Morty have noticed that Medicare's "doughnut hole" is shrinking. The coverage gap in Medicare's prescription drug program — dubbed the "doughnut hole" — caught Morty in December last year. But once there, he received a 50 percent discount on brand-name drugs and other discounts on generic drugs thanks to Obama's health care law.

Last year, he received a $250 rebate check provided by the new law for people in the doughnut hole. Under the health care law, the gap will be gradually phased out by 2020.

Warnings about possible cuts to Medicare Advantage plans caused by the health care law haven't come true, Carol McKenna said. Their health plan still includes extra benefits such as fitness center membership.

Read More..

Access to Money-Saving Benefits for Those 60 and Older

It's no secret many Americans are facing tough economic times and perhaps no segment more so than those aged 60 and older who are living on reduced or fixed incomes. The National Council on Aging and the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging wants to help connect those individuals with services to help reduce the costs for prescriptions, utilities, food and health care.

Aid Funds Available in the Billions of Dollars

A news release provided by the NCOA and n4a reveals there are assistance funds of more than $20 billion available to the millions of baby boomers and their seniors who qualify for assistance to reduce or eliminate the cost of necessities such as heat, electricity and basic phone service, plus items and services related to health. Brandy Bauer, spokeswoman for the NCOA, told Reuters that $6.8 billion in benefits remains unclaimed by Medicare recipients who qualify for Medicare Part D Extra Help but have not ever filed for this benefit.

Ready Access to Benefits Programs for Seniors

The National Council on Aging and the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging have combined their efforts to bring potential benefit recipients and benefit programs together in the You Gave, Now Save program. The intent of the program, as described by Reuters, is to aid the income-eligible of the 57 million Americans who are 60 years old and older, to learn about what benefits are available and provide the information needed to make application. The program provides information for a variety of benefit programs ranging from food assistance to transportation resources to heating and cooling assistance.

Other Resources for Seniors and Their Families

The You Gave, You Save program is provided in addition to the Eldercare Locator program that puts people in touch with resources in their communities and helps long-distance family members learn what is available in their loved one's community. Another program is the Benefits CheckUp program, a program that touts itself as aiding more than 3 million people accessing benefits worth more than $11 billion in the 10 years it has been in existence.

It can be hoped that by getting the information to the people who need it, they will be able to improve their quality of life by being able to afford food and prescription medication. No more having to make choices between the two.

Read More..