41.   Except in New York, which does not permit denial of Medigap coverage, insurers can turn away applicants who are thought likely to have high drug costs.

42.   For others, the drug costs may be covered by the drug assistance program under the Ryan White act, the federal program for treatment of AIDS patients.

43.   For the last several years, however, HMOs have faced soaring drug costs just as federal support was pared back.

44.   For many elderly people, drug costs are a heavy burden.

45.   Friday, Fallon Community Health Plan became the fourth HMO in the state to establish a financial assistance program to aid seniors with high drug costs.

46.   Gore has proposed expanding Medicare to cover prescription drug costs for the elderly and has made the issue of high drug prices a staple of his stump speeches.

47.   Gore then reminded the audience of his prescription drug plan, which would pay all drug costs for the impoverished elderly and subsidize them for all of the elderly.

48.   Growth in prescription drug costs and other factors has led to recent budget shortfalls.

49.   Gore, campaigning in Deerfield Beach, Fla., offered a proposal to cover catastrophic drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries.

50.   He also slammed pharmaceutical companies for stifling competition and therefore keeping drug costs high.