Check in with the Road Show crew - pictures, stories, and comments from towns across the country 

The Medicare Road Show has now been to 22 cities! Here's what happened in the latests events -- in Albany, New York; and the Twin Cities, Minnesota. Click on the links below these latest stories to see what happened in the earlier events

New York State Seniors Take Action
May 5, 2004
Albany, New York

More than 500 seniors gathered in the Legislative Office Building in Albany, New York on May 5th to learn more about the changes facing their health care benefits. The Medicare Road Show was invited by the New York Senior StateWide Action Council to be a part of their Senior Citizens Grassroots Day. Members of the New York State Legislature spoke at the event, and the day culminated with a speech by Attorney General Elliot Spitzer.

The Walter Cronkite Medicare video received rave reviews by an audience filled with seniors from all over the state. Bill Vaughan, Families USA's Director of Government Affairs, answered questions on a range of topics from drug discount cards to New York-specific health program issues. Mildred Fruhling, one of the seniors highlighted in the video, joined Mr. Vaughan at the podium. She told the crowd about her own experiences and finished the program by declaring that the name of the Medicare program should be changed to Medi-Don't-Care.  Both speakers received a rousing response by the audience.

The Medicare Road Show Joins Senior Citizens' Expo
May 3, 2004
Minneapolis, Minnesota

The Medicare Road Show was one of several exciting feature presentations at the annual Senior Citizens Expo in Minneapolis on May 3. Hosted by the Minnesota Senior Federation, the event drew over 500 inquisitive seniors.

Rick Kupchella, a KARE 11 newscaster, moderated the Road Show panel. Mr. Kupchella was uniquely qualified to play this role-he has done several feature pieces on this local NBC affiliate designed to help seniors understand their options under the new Medicare prescription drug law. The panel included Senator Mark Dayton, Families USA Executive Director Ron Pollack, and Dr. Susan Foote, Head of the Division of Health Services, Research and Policies at the University of Minnesota.

Following panelist presentations and a viewing of the video narrated by Walter Cronkite, there was a lively Q&A session. The panelists, joined by representatives from both Senator Norm Coleman's and Congressman Jim Ramstad's offices, answered a myriad of questions-questions made even more pressing by the fact that May 3 was the first day beneficiaries could sign up for the new Medicare drug discount cards.

Other cities visited by the Medicare Road Show:

• Cincinnati, Ohio
• Las Vegas, Nevada
• Des Moines, Iowa
• Cleveland, Ohio
• Albuquerque, New Mexico
• Portland, Maine
• San Antonio, Texas
• Portland, Oregon
• Seattle, Washington
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Deerfield Beach, Florida
• Chicago, Illinois
• Little Rock, Arkansas
• Miami, Florida
• Washington, DC

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