Blue Shield medical coverage, I didn't pay an awful lot of attention to what exactly it covered and what exactly it didn't. All I knew was that it didn't leave me much to pay out of my own pocket, and that was fine with me.

Now that I'm retired, however, I'm taking a closer look at all the bills I have to pay, and it's a real shocker. I'm a diabetic with all the attendant disorders and all the medications that go with them. I take some dozen pills with breakfast, and at least three with every other meal.

As I figure it, I pay out a neat $2,000 per month for drugs. How can people afford it?

For years now, I've heard stories about elderly folks who had to make the decision: what do I buy with the modest money available to me --medications or food?

Here are people who have worked hard all their lives, and at the end of these working lives their reward is to be pressed to the wall by the outrageous price of those medications that keep them alive.

When our society says you have to choose between your medications and the food that keeps you alive, something basic is wrong.

President Bush has promised to make prescription drugs more affordable. That was one of the promises he made to get re-elected. But don't believe it. He's on the side of big business, that is the drug companies.

There is, however, something that can help relieve the pressure of monstrous bills for medication: the Medicare-Approved Discount Card. Unfortunately, many seniors are unaware of the program.

As part of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003, Congress enacted legislation to provide Medicare beneficiaries with discounts on their prescription drugs until comprehensive Medicare prescription drug coverage would become effective on effective January 1, 2006.

The government, in true bureaucratic fashion, took very few measures to ensure that Medicare recipients were aware of the prescription drug cards.

According to the official government Medicare web site, " The Discount Card is intended as a temporary program to provide immediate assistance in lowering prescription drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries during 2004 and 2005 and will end when Medicare implements a new, comprehensive prescription drug benefit that will begin January 1, 2006." A large number of seniors, however, do not have access to the Internet.

The Vernon County Senior Center, as part of its community education program, is trying to make sure that eligible seniors are aware of all the resources available to them. The Senior Center will offer a free program about the drug cards on Tuesday, Jan. 25, at noon, at the Neal Center. Reservations are not necessary.

All persons enrolled in Medicare who are not enrolled in Medicaid may obtain a Medicare- Approved Prescription Drug Card which will help defray the cost of medications. (The average discount is around 13 percent).

There are NO income limits and ALL local pharmacies honor the cards.

There is also a Missouri Senior RX Program that can help provide substantial savings on prescription drugs for individuals with lower income.

I would strongly urge anyone on Medicare (or the children of anyone on Medicare) to attend the program.

In this day and age, truly every penny counts.