Because of information like that, the Senate Special Committee on Aging convened a hearing Wednesday on opioid misuse by the elderly. “Older Americans are among those unseen in this epidemic,” said Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr. (Pa.), the top Democrat on the panel. “In 2016, one in three people with a Medicare prescription drug plan received an opioid prescription. “Overall, one in three older Americans with Medicare drug coverage are prescribed opioid painkillers. Taking opioids can lead to falls, falls can lead to pain, pain can lead to opioids and opioids can be abused.

Source: Washington Post May 25, 2018 11:03 UTC