Generate an explanation for the given claim using the provided supporting material from the paragraph. Please consider the following points while generating an output. 1) The claim will always have supporting proof in the paragraph, and the paragraph will have a clear point of view supporting the claim. 2) There can be instances where direct correlation to the claim is not available. Make use of the sentences in the paragraph to provide a corresponding output supporting the claim. 3) The explanation should be at least one and at most twelve sentences long.
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Question: Paragraph: Among those arrested are three men who were caught Monday while trying to clear land to plant crops in Tesso Nilo National Park, which is home to about 140 endangered wild elephants, said Dedi Prasetyo, the national police spokesman. Those arrested could be prosecuted under an environmental protection law that provides for a maximum 10-year prison sentence for setting fires to clear land. Indonesia’s fires are an annual problem that strains relations with neighboring countries. The smoke from the fires has blanketed parts of Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and southern Thailand in a noxious haze. Poor visibility caused by smoke has caused delays of flights at several airports in Indonesia and Malaysia and prompted authorities to shut thousands of schools in some parts of the two countries, affecting more than 1.5 million students in Malaysia alone. Malaysian authorities have been conducting cloud seeding operations in an attempt to clear the haze and are considering passage of a law that would penalize Malaysian plantation companies that start fires abroad. Environment Minister Yeo Bee Yin said Thursday that a more lasting regional solution is needed. Singapore, directly across the Strait of Malacca from Indonesia’s Riau province on the island of Sumatra, experienced air pollution levels ranging between moderate and unhealthy levels on Thursday. Elevated levels of PM2.5, tiny airborne particulates, caused Singaporean authorities to issue health advisories to limit outdoor activities, especially among the elderly, pregnant women and children. PM2.5 particulates are small enough to be sucked deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream, and can cause respiratory problems and over time may raise the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancers. Thailand’s southernmost provinces, which are north of Malaysia halfway up the Malay Peninsula, were blanketed with haze from Indonesian fires on Thursday. Thai authorities said the level of air pollution has risen since Sept. 5, reaching a dangerous level in the last few days. The Air Pollution Research Station of Prince of Songkhla University urged residents of the affected areas to refrain from outdoor activities and not leave home without wearing masks. Health officials in Yala province have been giving out free masks to people on the streets while urging motorists to exercise caution when driving on highways because of poor visibility. “We face the problem every year between July and September, the worst was in 2015,” said Kaneungnit Srisamai of the government’s environment quality monitoring center. “We have seen less smoke in the last four years, but this year we may be facing it again due to a reduction in rainfall.” In addition to the arrests, Indonesian authorities have also sealed off land owned by at least 49 plantation companies in the past week for investigation after fires were found there. The Indonesian Disaster Mitigation Agency detected 4,319 hotspots across the country on Thursday. It said 99% of the hotspots were caused by deliberately set fires. The agency said 44 helicopters had dropped more than 270 million liters (71.3 million gallons) of water and 163 tons of salt for cloud seeding as part of the firefighting efforts. Indonesian authorities have deployed more than 29,000 people to fight the fires, which have razed more than 328,700 hectares (812,000 acres) of land across the nation, with more than half in the provinces of Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan. Indonesia’s annual dry season fires were particularly disastrous in 2015, burning 2.6 million hectares (10,000 square miles) of land. The World Bank estimated the fires cost Indonesia $16 billion, and a Harvard and Columbia study estimated the haze hastened 100,000 deaths in the region. ___ Associated Press writers Busaba Sivasomboon and Grant Peck in Bangkok and Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, contributed to this report. Claim: Indonesian police arrest hundreds linked to forest fires.

Answer: Indonesian police said Thursday they have arrested 230 people suspected of starting some of the fires that are spreading health-damaging haze across a large part of Southeast Asia.


Question: Paragraph: The lawsuits were the latest by states and local governments against drugmaker Purdue Pharma as the country grapples with an opioid epidemic. About a dozen states have also targeted Richard Sackler, the company’s former leader, or members of his family. “Purdue and the Sacklers traded the health and well-being of Californians for profit and created an unprecedented national public health crisis in the process,” California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said at a news conference announcing the legal action by his state. “We will hold them accountable.” Becerra, echoing allegations lodged against Purdue Pharma by others attorneys general across the country, said the company falsely introduced OxyContin in the 1990s as a safe and effective treatment for chronic pain. However, the California’s lawsuit alleges that Purdue and Sackler knew in 1997 that drugs containing oxycodone, such as OxyContin, were widely abused. Still, company representatives marketed it as not being addictive and downplayed the potential for abuse, the suit states. In a statement Monday, Purdue Pharma and former directors of the company denied the allegations and vowed to defend against the “misleading attacks.” It noted that OxyContin represents less than 2% of total opioid prescriptions and is still approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its intended use as a painkiller as prescribed by doctors and dispensed by pharmacists. “Such allegations demand clear evidence linking the conduct alleged to the harm described,” spokesman Robert Josephson said in a statement. “But we believe the state fails to show such causation and offers little evidence to support its sweeping legal claims.” A spokesman for Sackler did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The family has faced a backlash in recent years amid a growing public outcry around opioid addiction. In addition, activists have targeted institutions, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, that the family has supported through large contributions. The museum has said it will no longer take money from members of the family linked to the drugmaker. Purdue stopped marketing OxyContin to doctors last year. It settled a lawsuit by the state of Oklahoma in March for $270 million. The company previously said it is pursuing several options, including bankruptcy, which could upend pending litigation by states as well as about 2,000 local and tribal governments across the country. The lawsuits filed Monday allege that Purdue Pharma pushed doctors to prescribe opioids for longer periods of time at higher doses. “Our complaint alleges that their unrelenting sales visits to doctors and deceptive practices led to a marked increase in opioid prescriptions, and a corresponding increase in the number of Mainers suffering from opioid use disorder,” Maine Attorney General Aaron M. Frey said. Maine’s lawsuit names Richard Sackler, Jonathan Sackler, Mortimer D.A. Sackler and Kathe Sackler — all of whom have served on the board of Stamford, Connecticut-based Purdue Pharma. States have also cracked down on doctors who overprescribe the drug. Hawaii Attorney General Clare Connors said in a statement Monday that she has filed lawsuits alleging violations of Hawaii’s Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices Law. One complaint alleges Purdue deceptively marketed OxyContin and other opioids. Another says manufacturers and distributors sold more opioids than could be “legitimately prescribed.” Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said opioids are the main driver of drug overdose deaths. Opioids were involved in 47,600 overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2017, according to the agency. In 2017, it says, prescription opioids were involved in 1,172 overdose deaths in California; 100 overdose deaths in Maine; and 58 in the District of Columbia. Maine set a state record for total drug overdose deaths in 2017 with 417. Jordan Basileu joined Becerra in announcing California’s lawsuit. He said he was prescribed opioid painkillers at 18 following a car crash and became addicted. “People think, ‘it’s from a doctor. How bad can it be?’” Basileu said of the drug. Basileu said he overdosed four times before getting sober three years ago. “I’m still cleaning up the mess that opioids got me in to,” he said. ___ Associated Press reporters Adam Beam and Caleb Jones contributed to this story. Jones reported from Honolulu. Claim: More states sue opioid maker alleging deceptive marketing.

Answer: California, Hawaii, Maine and the District of Columbia filed lawsuits Monday against the maker of OxyContin and the company’s former president, alleging the firm falsely promoted the drug by downplaying the risk of addiction while it emerged as one of the most widely abused opioids in the U.S.


Question: Paragraph: The study in the journal Health Affairs comes as legislation to curb drug costs for seniors languishes in Congress and the growing financial exposure of patients with insurance is getting more attention in the nation’s health care debates. The survey findings were a surprise to researchers, since Medicare is considered relatively good coverage and most people have supplemental insurance to fill its gaps. After drug costs, the most often cited issues were hospital bills, ambulance rides and emergency visits. “It points to a real issue that has gone under the radar,” said Tricia Neuman, a Medicare expert with the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation who was not involved with the study and reviewed it for The Associated Press. “Survey after survey shows that people are satisfied with Medicare, but this analysis shows that people with Medicare who have serious health problems can face very high out-of-pocket costs, and that’s an issue that hasn’t gotten much attention.” All told, 53% of seriously ill Medicare patients said they had major trouble paying their medical bills. More than a third reported using all or most of their savings to pay medical bills, 27% said they were contacted by a collection agency and 23% were unable to pay for basics such as food, heat and housing. Nearly half (45 reported emotional or psychological distress, and 1 in 4 said their medical costs had become a major burden on their families. “We did not expect to see this extent of financial hardship in the Medicare population,” said Michael Anne Kyle, lead author of the study and a doctoral candidate at Harvard University. She said lawmakers may need to devote more attention to the needs of Medicare beneficiaries with catastrophic costs. “Out-of-pocket costs are very concentrated,” Kyle said. “The sickest population is also getting the biggest bills. Especially if you are sick over time, you are slowly draining your bank account.” The study defined seriously ill people as those with a condition that over the past three years required two or more hospitalizations and visits to three or more doctors. Included in the study were Medicare recipients 65 and older as well as younger beneficiaries who qualified for coverage because of disability. Over half had seen five to nine doctors in the past three years. Among the most prevalent conditions were heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Thirty percent reported that the cost of prescription drugs was their major hardship. Legislation to curb the costs of medicines for seniors has advanced this year in Congress, but it’s unclear if it can pass because the House and Senate remain far apart. House Democrats want Medicare to directly negotiate prices for the costliest drugs — a nonstarter for Senate Republicans. However, there is widespread agreement on putting an annual out-of-pocket limit on drug costs for Medicare enrollees. Although President Donald Trump wants a bill, the House impeachment inquiry has overshadowed efforts to move legislation. As a candidate, Trump had backed Medicare drug price negotiations. It’s uncertain if the White House will try to find a compromise now between the House and Senate positions. A second study out Monday also called attention to seniors’ out-of-pocket costs. Focusing on people with traditional Medicare, the Kaiser Family Foundation estimated that the average enrollee spent $5,460 out of their own pocket for health care in 2016, counting premiums and medical services. That figure also included long-term care costs. The average was lower — $4,519 — for people living in their communities and not in institutions. The Health Affairs study was based on a 2018 national survey of people of any age who suffered from a serious illness. Researchers decided to go back and take a closer at the Medicare group because of the unexpectedly high degree of problems. The margin of error was plus or minus 4.6 percentage points. Claim: 1 in 2 seriously ill Medicare enrollees struggles with bills.

Answer:
More than half of seriously ill Medicare enrollees face financial hardships with medical bills, with prescription drug costs the leading problem, according to a study published Monday.