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: Tuesday is the final day of Sexually Transmitted Disease Awareness Month, and the state CDC says it's recommending prevention, screening and treatment. The agency says Maine has seen "dramatic increases" in gonorrhea and syphilis in the last five years. Gonorrhea cases increased nearly 200 percent, to 686, from 2014 to 2018. Syphilis cases have risen by almost 600 percent, to 104, in that same timeframe. Acting Maine CDC Director Nancy Beardsley says the health consequences of sexually transmitted infections are serious enough that residents "know the facts about STDs and get tested if they believe they are at risk." Claim: Maine stresses test as sexually transmitted infections surge.

Answer: The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention is calling on residents to get tested for sexually transmitted infections amid a spike in cases of gonorrhea and syphilis in the state.

Question: Paragraph: The updated legislation unveiled by Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., would lower the standard copay to 20% from the current 25% for seniors enrolled in Medicare's Part D prescription drug benefit. It also introduces a feature that would let Medicare enrollees spread out their copays in monthly installments. Because of the current design of the system, seniors taking very expensive drugs can face unmanageable out-of-pocket costs in the first couple of months of any year. The bipartisan Senate bill has the support of President Donald Trump, but it's unclear if any significant drug pricing legislation can pass a Congress polarized by impeachment. In the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to bring her own, more ambitious bill to a floor vote next week. The California Democrat's legislation would empower Medicare to negotiate prices with drug companies and plow the savings back into expanded dental, vision and hearing benefits for seniors. But congressional Republicans are opposed to the government negotiating drug prices. Trump, who supported the idea as a candidate, has since dropped it. And Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, is reluctant to bring the bipartisan Grassley-Wyden bill to the floor. It could trigger Democratic amendments designed to create political headaches for Republicans on other issues, such as protecting people with pre-existing medical conditions. In terms of policy ideas, there's considerable overlap between the Senate bill and parts of Pelosi's plan. Both would cap out-of-pocket costs for Medicare beneficiaries and require drugmakers to pay rebates to the government if they hike prices above inflation. But the political challenges may be impossible to overcome. The Grassley-Wyden bill would limit out-of-pocket medication costs faced by seniors to $3,100, starting in 2022. Currently there is no limit, and some Medicare recipients dealing with serious illness face copays rivaling a mortgage payment. In a statement late Friday, the White House said "President Donald J. Trump applauds the work of Chairman Grassley and Ranking Member Wyden to lower prescription drug costs and further improve their bipartisan legislation, such as adding a provision to limit monthly out-of-pocket spending for seniors with chronic high costs. The White House called on Congress "to act now to give Americans the relief they need by sending bipartisan drug pricing reform to the President's desk this year." Supporters of the Senate bill are hoping a deal can still be had, and that major prescription drug legislation can be incorporated in a budget bill expected early next year. The pharmaceutical industry opposes both the Senate and House bills and has poured millions of dollars into a lobbying battle to block them. Claim: "Bipartisan Medicare drug bill gets makeover to lower copays."

Answer: A bipartisan Senate bill to curb prescription drug costs for Medicare recipients got a makeover Friday to lower copays and make it easier for seniors to budget for their expenses.

Question: Paragraph: Louise, a black English Labrador, doesn't ask anything of Casteel except to provide a warm lap to sit in or a ball to chase across the room. For Casteel, it's about the best therapy she's ever had. (Louise) calms me down," said Casteel, who lives in the Manhattan area. "She'll play with you, she'll sit with you. She knows when you're sad." Casteel is a client at Veridian Behavioral Health, a multi-disciplinary mental health care center that is part of the behavioral health department of Salina Regional Health Center. Many of Veridian's psychiatrists, counselors and nurse practitioners serve individuals and families struggling with common life problems such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, marital problems, parent-child conflicts or grief and loss. Recently, the center added another tool to help clients in their programs certified therapy dogs. Three dogs specifically, have been introduced to the programs: Louise, a Chesapeake Bay retriever named Phil and a Great Dane named Daisy. These dogs assist adult inpatient and outpatient clients at the hospital, as well as children suffering trauma and other mental health issues at Veridian's east campus, the Salina Journal reported. Angela Koerperich, an advanced nurse practitioner who owns and supervises Daisy, said Veridian received a grant in October 2015 to add three certified therapy dogs into its mental health program. She and two other Veridian nurse practitioners took on a dog: Louise belongs to Jennifer Pekarek and Phil is owned by Marcia Cleavenger. "We've talked about this for years as something that would be great to have in the inpatient unit," Koerperich said. "We worked together to make it happen. We got in contact with CARES, and the pieces just came together." CARES, which stands for Canine Assistance Rehabilitation Education & Services, is Concordia-based specialty service that offers specially trained canine assistants to people with disabilities throughout the U.S., as well as professional therapy dogs for schools, mental health facilities, hospitals and nursing homes. The majority of dogs that CARES trains are produced from their own breeding programs or are donated ex-show dogs, specifically bred puppies and family pets. Dogs are fostered out to volunteer homes and facilities where they are raised for nine to 18 months, learn basic obedience and become socialized to all aspects of public and private life. Louise and Daisy happened to be trained by inmates at the Ellsworth Correctional Facility, Cleavenger said, which has established a dog training program. "It can be nearly a two year process before they're certified," she said. To become a certified therapy animal, a dog has to have the right kind of temperament to interact with subjects who may be going through trauma or other mental or physical issues, Cleavenger said. "A lot of times people come into the clinic, and they'll be highly anxious or depressed," she said. "A therapy dog helps to ease the anxiety and make it easier to converse with that person. I've had a patient with high blood pressure who, once they spent a little time with Phil, their high blood pressure dropped." Koerperich said Daisy, who like the other therapy dogs wears an identifiable vest while at "work," does wonders with children at the Veridian outpatient office. "Sometimes it's hard to get children to engage or take their medicine, and the dogs can help," she said. "When you are talking to kids about trauma, it's nice to have Daisy in the room. Sometimes a child will talk to the dog and not the therapist. They'll take Daisy outside, walk her around. It's nice to have that physical distraction." Pekarek said at Veridian's inpatient unit at the hospital, Louise has been an immense help when it comes to communicating with patients who are virtually disabled as a result of trauma or mental issues. "Louise seems to warm up to people really fast," Pekarek said. "I'll bring Louise into the inpatient units, and she seems to know who needs her the most. She will stay with them, even if that person won't get out of bed. There was 14-year-old girl here who would not talk to me or her mother, but she talked to Louise. It's amazing to watch." For Casteel, having Louise by her side during therapy sessions has given her hope that her life will continue to improve in the future. "I got an animal myself after I met Louise," she said. "I know now that I need an emotional support animal, that without one I'll be more depressed than usual. I got a cat, but he's as gentle as (Louise) is." ___ Information from: The Salina (Kan.) Journal, http://www.salina.com Claim: Salina center's therapy dogs help manage mental health.

Answer:
Whenever Jackie Casteel has difficulty dealing with her depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, she knows she can rely on the comforting paw of a four-legged therapist named Louise.