Copyright 2002 Newsday, Inc.  

Newsday (New York, NY)
September 23, 2002 Monday NASSAU AND SUFFOLK EDITION
SECTION: NEWS, Pg. A14

LENGTH: 379 words

HEADLINE: Issue Prompts Media Blitz

BYLINE: By Deborah Barfield Berry. WASHINGTON BUREAU

BODY:
Portland, Maine - Nearly 200 people, mostly seniors, packed a room here one recent afternoon to vent about the high cost of prescription drugs and to complain that Congress hasn't passed a Medicare drug bill. The "kitchen table" forum was sponsored by the AARP.

Next month, another group, the Alliance of Retired Americans, plans to take a busload of seniors to Canada to buy prescription drugs and show how much cheaper it is to get the same medicine across the border.

Over the next few weeks, Maine will provide the backdrop for the Medicare prescription drug battle as national senior groups try to pressure Congress to act on the long-awaited legislation. Groups on opposite sides of the issue plan to spend millions nationally to run ads and stage events in targeted congressional races. They're focusing mostly on close races where prescription drugs are a campaign issue and seniors account for a high percentage of voters.

"This issue is very much on people's radar," said Chris Hansen, director of advocacy at the AARP, the nation's largest senior group, which plans to spend at least $1 million. "There are horror stories in every state. And there are incredible horror stories in Maine. We're just trying to keep the issue out front."

Besides forums, the AARP has launched a postcard campaign and distributed voters guides outlining candidates' positions on prescription drugs. AARP and the alliance want a bill that provides coverage to all seniors and is run by Medicare.

The alliance, mostly retired union workers, will spend $1 million for ads, bus trips and town hall meetings.

"We'll do events to keep a face" on the issue, said Edward Coyle, the group's executive director. "It's very easy for this issue just to become a battle about numbers ... What this is about is helping those folks who cut their pills in half until their Social Security checks arrive next week."

To counter those campaigns, the United Seniors Association, a group partly funded by drug companies, recently launched a $4-million ad campaign in 16 states to get more support for the House Republican bill, which relies on the private sector to run the drug program."Seniors can't take rhetoric to the pharmacy," said Charles Jarvis, head of the group.

LOAD-DATE: September 23, 2002