Cholesterol Drugs’ Side Effects

Nearly 21 million patients in the United States were prescribed statins, a cholesterol-reducing drug, last year.  Now, federal health officials are adding new alerts to statins about the rare risks of memory loss, increased blood sugar levels and muscle pain. 

The Food and Drug Administration has now officially linked statins, such as Lipitor, Zocor, and Crestor, with cognitive problems including confusion and forgetfulness.  The F.D.A. has also pointed out that statins may increase blood sugar levels minimally in some people, thus increasing the nation’s diagnosis of diabetes.  Additionally, when statins are taken in high doses, the patient has an increased risk of muscle pain.

For years, the F.D.A. has debated the side effects vs. the benefit and whether the number of patients being prescribed statins was too high or too low.  However, even with the new alerts, officials still stress that the benefit of preventing heart disease is irrefutable, and that with any drug, it should be taken with caution.   

Protecting Your Child's Tomorrow Today

Identity thieves are now targeting children’s social security numbers. To protect your children, put a freeze on their credit. That means you should check once a year with all three credit bureaus to make sure no record is associated with your child. Remember, you get one FREE report per person per year from each of the 3 bureaus. Also, call the SS Administration to verify that the number is secure.

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Extra Help

There have been changes to the federal law regarding “extra help” medication for seniors. However, about 2 million eligible people have not signed on. Extra Help (also called low income subsidy), provides financial assistance on premiums, deductibles, and prescriptions. To qualify, one must be on Medicare, have an annual income less than $16,335 (married couples - $$22.065), and assets of $12,640 (married-$25,260) or less. Some assets, like a home, a car, or life insurance do not count.  For further information please visit ssa.gov/pubs/10115.html.

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I know many people complain that the government perhaps gets too involved in our lives.  But there are some outstanding US government departments and federal laws that truly protect all of us in ways that cannot be accomplished otherwise. I highly recommend that if you want to know how to get your free credit reports, which each of us should obtain once a year, you follow what is set forth in http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre34.shtm..

For an excellent summary of the consumer protection laws that govern you and your family’s lives, please visit http://www.hg.org/consume.html.

If you want to know the top consumer fraud complaints and how to better protect yourself from improper conduct, the newest list is included in http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2008/02/fraud.shtm.

Term Limits Aren't as Important an Issue as Money and Lobbying Reform

In response to Editor Terry Smith's "Wearing Thin" column in the January 26th edition of The Athens NEWS, Attorney Sean Harris points out that term limits aren't the big issue.