Medicare Portrayal Tailored by Parties

Medicare Portrayal Tailored by Parties

Now that Congress has enacted a Medicare prescription drug bill, Republicans and Democrats -- and their allies -- are pursuing aggressive campaigns to mold public opinion about whether the new law will help or hurt people who rely on the program.

A month after President Bush triumphantly signed the Medicare legislation, top administration health officials are planning an advertising blitz and speaking tours to promote the law during the election year. House Republicans have produced marketing materials that lawmakers are handing out to their constituents.

Foes of the Medicare changes have mobilized with equal vigor. Democratic House members convened five dozen town hall meetings around the country last month to spread their objections to the law; their Senate counterparts are scheduling dates when they plan to present particularly loud criticism. Families USA, which opposed the legislation, is producing a film, to be narrated by Walter Cronkite, that will be part of a Medicare road show the consumer health lobby plans for the spring.