A Special Supplement to the Austin Daily Herald
Online sources make social security easy By Cindy Nelson Social Security District Manager in Austin
Friday, July 16, 2010
The sun is out and there are a thousand and one things you could be doing outside. The last thing you want to do is sit in traffic on your way to the Social Security office, or to wait in line once you get there. From your doorstep to the local office and back again, you could spend a lot of extra time taking care of your Social Security business. Or, you could choose to visit our online office at www.socialsecurity.gov and complete your Social Security business in a matter of minutes with no commute whatsoever. There are so many things you can do at our online office. For example, you can apply online for retirement benefits. Our website makes it simple, allowing you to apply for retirement benefits in as little as 15 minutes. In most cases, once
you fill out the application, you’re done. There are no forms to sign and no documents to submit. The direct link to applying for benefits online is www.socialsecurity.gov/a pplyonline. Not ready to retire yet, or not sure? We have online resources that can help you plan ahead or make your decision. Our Retirement Estimator will allow you to enter different scenarios to come up with the retirement plan best for you. You can find it at www.socialsecurity.gov/e stimator. Perhaps you need to file an application for disability benefits. A Disability Starter Kit explains the documentation and information you’ll be required to provide on the application, and includes checklists and worksheets to help take the mystery out of applying. You can find the Disability Starter Kit at www.socialsecurity.gov/d isability on the left-hand
side of the page. You can apply online for Medicare, if you’re within four months of your 65th birthday. Most people, even those who don’t plan to start getting retirement benefits right away, need to apply for Medicare coverage at age 65. The application takes as little as 10 minutes, from start to finish. Learn more at www.socialsecurity.gov/p ubs/10530.html. There are other things you can do online, such as apply for a replacement Medicare card, and request an SSA-1099 for tax purposes. You can learn about these and other online services at www.socialsecurity.gov/o nlineservices. So if you’d like to soak up some sun this summer, we suggest you take your Social Security business online. You may even be able to take your laptop outside and conduct your business in the great outdoors. See for yourself at www.socialsecurity.gov.
FDA lacks guidlines for risky meds Rachel Drewelow/rachel.drewelow@austindailyherald.com
Sid and Judy Brown pack a box in the common area of the Village Cooperative to ship to a soldier in Iraq or Afghanistan. The Browns are volunteers for Operation Minnesota Nice, an organization which “adopts” soldiers and sends them monthly care packages.
A dose of Minnesota nice By RACHEL DREWELOW
Judy Brown explained. The soldier is then assigned to volunteers in Minnesota who commit to sending one care package a month. “I believe it must be very depressing to be over there alone, and not getting any mail,” Judy Brown said. “It’s such a simple thing for us to do
items. Judy Brown said the pair invites residents of the greater Austin area Every month, a certo donate as well by tain young soldier somedropping off items or where in Afghanistan or cash in the common Iraq opens up a package room. sent from Sid and Judy “It’s fun to see what Brown of Austin. you can find inexpenThe 25-pound box sively,” she explained, includes instant coffee noting she doesn’t take and juice mix, toothspecial trips to brushes and toothpaste, mag“It’s fun to see what you shop for the soldier, but tries to azines, candy, blank greeting can find inexpensively. If pick things up cards — and lots you can think of anything when she is out r u n n i n g of what the “If Browns are sure you’d like to receive they’d errands. is the soldier’s probably likey to receive you can think of anything favorite, beef it, too.” you’d like to jerky. receive, they’d Sid and Judy Brown pack the -Judy Brown probably like to receive it, too.” boxes for There are some Operation Minnesota and it’s so rewarding.” The Browns began restrictions on what can Nice at their home in the Village Cooperative of rallying up troops for be sent, however. For OMN, residents at the example, pork is not Austin. Operation Minnesota Village Cooperative, to allowed in the countries, Nice (OMN) is a volun- get the project going this so the Browns make sure to send only turkey teer organization which spring. “Our neighbors have SPAM products and beef coordinates the long-distance "adoption" of sol- been very, very gener- jerky. diers stationed abroad. ous,” Sid Brown said, Soldiers who are not standing next to a table receiving mail are rec- in the co-op’s common ommended to OMN for area, overflowing with BOXES, Page 4 “adoption” by their boxes of jerky, cans of Packages include wish lists for superiors or chaplains, sardines and hygiene soldiers to fill out and return. rachel.drewelow @austindailyherald.com
By MARILYNN MARCHIONE Associated Press
The arthritis pill Vioxx was withdrawn but menopause hormones were not, even though both were tied to heart risks. A multiple sclerosis medicine was pulled and later allowed back on. So, when is a drug too risky to stay on the market? Drug safety questions arose again recently, as calls mount for the diabetes pill Avandia to be withdrawn. Surprisingly, the Food and Drug Administration has no firm rules for deciding such cases — just a murky guideline of “when the risks exceed the benefits.” “Each drug has its own complex story,” so comparisons to previous decisions can’t be made, said Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, the FDA's principal deputy commissioner. The agency does need better criteria for weighing drug safety, he said. It has asked a group of outside scientists, the Institute of Medicine, to give advice. A report is expected before the July 13-14 hearing on Avandia, a controversial pill whose maker, GlaxoSmithKline PLC, insists is safe. The FDA can order a drug off the market, but that can be challenged in court. Usually, a company voluntarily withdraws the medicine at the FDA’s request. Many things influence whether such a request is made, said Dr. Brian Strom, a drug safety expert at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a longtime FDA drug safety adviser who has consulted for Takeda Pharmaceuticals, which makes Actos, an Avandia rival. Some factors to consider: • How serious is the illness being treated? Severe side effects are accepted for cancer drugs, for example, but not for an allergy drug such as Seldane, which on rare occasions caused sudden death and was withdrawn a decade ago, Strom said. • How big is the harm? “Causing a little nausea isn’t so bad. Killing people is,” Strom said. Ultimately, though, the decision whether to withdraw a drug rests with federal scientists. In 2007, the agency’s internal panel of drug safety specialists voted 8-7 to keep Avandia on the market. The agency’s drug safety panel, which con-
sists of high-ranking officials from the FDA and other agencies, was set up in 2005 to resolve safety disputes, after the agency was criticized for its handling of the Vioxx
situation. It will likely include FDA drug center leadership who oversaw the initial approval and subsequent labeling of Avandia.
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