Medicare Unveils Preventive Care Campaign

Medicare and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Friday launched a campaign urging seniors to be healthier.

The A Healthier U.S. Starts Here campaign will urge Medicare beneficiaries to take advantage of the program’s preventive care services.

During the spring and summer, a tour bus will visit each of the lower 48 states to promote cooperation between beneficiaries, families, caregivers, health professionals and community organizations on prevention issues.

Many seniors are at risk for diseases that can be treated with preventive care if they are identified early, Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt said.

More than 34 million Americans, for example, have low bone mass placing them at risk for osteoporosis, he said.

Decreasing total cholesterol levels by 10 percent in the U.S. population could result in a 30-percent reduction in the incidence of coronary heart disease, Leavitt added, and 46,700 U.S. adults die annually from vaccine-preventable diseases.