Q&A on the News
Q: I understand that senior citizens are supposed to get $250 for prescription drugs. When are we supposed to receive it?
-- Clark Dorsey, Covington
A: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services plans to issue $250 rebate checks to Medicare beneficiaries who have reached the prescription drug coverage gap known as the "doughnut hole." The first checks, about 80,000, are expected to be mailed June 15, and additional checks will be mailed roughly every six weeks until the end of the year, according to a letter by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services projects 4 million beneficiaries will receive a check in 2010.
Q: German U-boats sank many ships close to eastern U.S. shores in 1942 before we established the convoy system. What was the ecological damage done by the oil that came ashore, contaminating beaches?
-- Roy Graham, Sandy Springs
A: There were 590,000 tons of oil spilled into the Atlantic Ocean because of U-boat attacks off the east coast of the United States between January and June 1942, according to "The Handy Science Answer Book," published by the Science and Technology Department of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. The book calls those attacks the first major oil spill in the world.
Lori Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or e-mail q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
