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Mary LaskerMary Lasker
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between '73 and '76, in a seven percent decline in heart deaths and a fourteen percent decline in stroke deaths, and it means a total saving of a hundred and forty-seven thousand lives in those three years. Now that's just the beginning of what can be done.

And Senator Pepper has held a hearing for his committee on -- Select Committee on Aging, on high blood pressure in older people, over sixty-five, and he is thinking about writing some legislation that it would make it possible for Medicare to pay for drugs and patient's visits to doctors, on an out-patient visit for high blood pressure. At present, there's no such --

Q:

Proviso?

Lasker:

Provision, yes. And if this can be done, it would be -- it would make a great difference to the death rate. Many people over sixty-five are poor, can't afford the medicine, can't afford even to go two or three times to a doctor, or don't, and if they were able to easily, they would be able to survive.

Q:

This is a prime illustration then, the success of this media program in publicizing the thing? A prime illustration of the effectiveness of combining medical techniques with publicity?

Lasker:

Absolutely. It's a prime illustration, because without this, even though they put out numerous pamphlets and publicized their efforts to medical groups, very little would have happened without the --

Q:

Were the medical people heavily involved in this publicity? I





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