In response to the growing number of veterans denied the mental health treatment needed to address their post traumatic stress who end up in legal trouble after self-medicating to suppress their anxieties, Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)on 1 AUG introduced the Services, Education, and Rehabilitation for Veterans (SERV) Act to create veteran drug treatment courts to support veterans combat the cycle of alcohol or drug addiction. A similar program is operational in Buffalo, NY and has already seen great success. The SERV Act would authorize funds to go to the Office of National Drug Control Policy for the development and implementation of veteran’s treatment courts or to enhance operational drug courts to serve veterans.

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In a move that could lead to significant changes in medical care for older men, a national task force in the United States recommended that doctors stop screening men ages 75 and older for prostate cancer because the search for the disease in this group is causing more harm than good. The new guidelines, issued 4 AUG by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, represent an abrupt policy change by an influential panel that had withheld any advice regarding screening for prostate cancer, citing a lack of reliable evidence.

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The House overwhelmingly approved a bill that—among other things—would increase the mileage compensation paid by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) by nearly 50% to help vets who have to drive long distances to receive medical care. The increase in mileage compensation—to 41.5 cents per mile—was included in the Fiscal Year 2009 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, which must still be considered by the Senate and approved by President Bush, said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Dave Obey (D-WI). The spending bill—which passed 409 to 4—would provide $336 million above Bush’s FY 2009 budget request for servicemember quality-of-life projects to improve living conditions and health care delivery. Projects include the modernization of training facilities, as well as the building of child care centers, barracks and housing, Obey said. The bill also would address the backlog in maintenance at VA medical facilities; improve access to health care for vets in areas where VA does not offer services; increase availability of new generation prosthetics; substantially increase funding for research into trauma, mental health and other critical areas; and provide additional case workers and medical services for homeless vets. [Source: Rep. Dave Obey press release 1 Aug 08 ++]

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Veterans exposed to the herbicide Agent Orange are twice as likely to get prostate cancer as other veterans, UC Davis researchers found in a study published online by the journal Cancer. Prostate cancer in those men also comes on earlier and is more aggressive, said Dr. Karim Chaime, chief resident in urology at UC Davis and the study’s lead author. The findings are a clear signal that men who worked with Agent Orange should be cared for differently, getting earlier biopsies and more aggressive treatment, he said. “This is a high-risk group.” Chaime described the study of more than 13,000 Northern California veterans over eight years as “the biggest study ever done” on Agent Orange effects. It will be published in the 15 SEP print edition of Cancer, after online publication last week, and Chaime hopes it soon could lead to new Department of Veterans’ Affairs treatment standards.

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A House subcommittee was told 17 July that the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Independent Living Program is failing to adequately address the needs of severely disabled veterans.

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U.S. health officials said 21 JUL that starting in 2009 doctors can earn additional money from Medicare if they use electronic prescribing systems. The bonus program, which will continue for four years, is designed to streamline the prescription process and cut down on errors. In 2009 and 2010, Medicare will give doctors an additional 2% bonus on top of their fee for “e-prescribing.”

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According to a new University of Georgia study older adults can decrease their risk of disability and increase their likelihood of maintaining independence by 41% by participating in a walking exercise program. The study, which appears in the current issue of the Journal of Geriatric Physical Therapy, also found that walking program participants increased their peak aerobic capacity by 19% when compared to a control group and increased their physical function by 25%. Study co-author M. Elaine Cress, professor of kinesiology and researcher in the UGA Institute of Gerontolog, said, “In the past decade, researchers have focused on the benefits of strength training in maintaining independence, but until now we didn’t have good evidence using an objective performance measure that a walking program would improve physical functioning. Our study found that walking offers tremendous health benefits that can help older adults stay independent.” The researchers randomly assigned 26 low-income adults aged 60 and older to either a walking exercise group, which met three times a week for four months, or a nutrition education control group. Initially, the group would walk for 10 minutes continually. As the weeks progressed, they increased their walking time to 40 continuous minutes. Each session began with a 10-minute warm-up and ended with a 10-minute cool-down that included balance and flexibility exercises.

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Two years of hard work came to fruition 16 JUL in a move that could benefit thousands of veterans who suffer from Lou Gehrig’s disease. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will grant a service-connected disability, the highest category of disability, to all veterans with ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a degenerative disease that affects veterans at a rate at 1.6 times the general population. The news came during a conference call among Dr. James Peake, secretary of Veterans Affairs, Sen. Lindsey Graham and retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Tom Mikolajcik, who suffers from ALS and spoke from his Mount Pleasant home. Mikolajcik cried when he heard the news. He deflected credit for the policy change and praised Peake and South Carolina legislators, including Graham, Rep. Henry Brown and Sen. Jim DeMint. “This will impact thousands of veterans,” Mikolajcik said. “This is a reason to have hope — hope meaning helping other people endure.” ALS strikes about 15 Americans daily, shutting down nerve cells responsible for movement. Limbs weaken and atrophy before paralysis spreads to the trunk of the body. Seventy percent of people with ALS die within five years. Previously, only veterans of the first Gulf War received full benefits for ALS. The new designation should take effect in AUG 08.

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For the third consecutive year, the Pentagon’s budget request for fiscal 2009 calls for big hikes in enrollment fees, deductibles and pharmacy co-pays in its Tricare health insurance program .It’s not hard to see why. Military health care costs have ballooned from $19 billion in 2001 to $43 billion this year, almost 10% of the entire defense budget. At this rate, health care will hit $65 billion by 2015. Clearly, something must be done. But so far, the Pentagon and Congress have been talking past each other. Defense officials say they need fee hikes to raise revenue and to discourage people who have other health care options from using Tricare in the first place. “Health care costs are eating us alive” Defense Secretary Robert Gates told House lawmakers 6 FEB. “We really need to work with the Congress.” To date, however, Congress hasn’t said much more than no to fee hikes. That’s like ignoring your credit card bill and hoping your bank won’t notice. Congress has sat by for more than a decade, ever cognizant of soaring health care costs, but not once raising Tricare fees, which haven’t changed since the program’s inception in 1995. Not even to adjust for inflation.

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This year, according to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 186,000 men in the U.S. will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, and about 28,000 will die from the disease. According to phase-I clinical results published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology on 22 JUL, a new drug, abiraterone, dramatically shrunk the size of tumors and offered lasting benefits for prostate patients, compared with existing treatments. Researchers found that this experimental drug showed significant benefits for men who had exhausted all other treatments. Though it is in early development, many cancer doctors are optimistic about abiraterone. Cougar Biotechnology Inc., who sponsored the trial, says the drug could be approved for sale in the U.S. as early as 2011, if all goes well. Initial findings suggest more patients with advanced prostate cancer respond to abiraterone than other drugs in development. There is also evidence the tumors shrink more on this drug and that benefits last longer, in some cases, a year and a half. Prostate cancers are fueled by testosterone. This drug lowers the levels of testosterone below what can be achieved with other drugs. The next step is a much larger, international clinical trial, which is currently enrolling patients. The goal is to determine whether the many benefits of this drug translate into prolonged survival for patients, the way it has for current trial users. [Source: ABC Medical News John McKenzie article 23 Jul 08 ++]

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