The enactment of the Medicare Modernization Act produced the greatest change in Medicare’s 40-year history with the addition of a prescription drug benefit. However, millions of seniors knew little about the benefit that was designed to help them afford necessary medications. On behalf of Pfizer, Spectrum Science Communications worked with non-profit groups and government officials to create a series of events across the country that would educate seniors and people living with disabilities about the new prescription drug benefit.

In Billings, MT, special guests U.S. Senator Max Baucus and Leslie Norwalk, Deputy Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), were joined by 13 health advocacy organizations at an educational seminar for more than 400 seniors. Spectrum worked with Senator Baucus’s office and CMS to develop media materials and drive media attendance and coverage. In Bridgewater, NJ, an Office on Aging event featuring U.S. Rep. Mike Ferguson (R-7th), included free glaucoma screenings along with a detailed question and answer session about the drug benefit. Spectrum arranged and coordinated all pre-event logistics and managed media relations during the event that attracted more than 300 seniors.

The educational MMA programs reached thousands of seniors in person and through the media. Some media highlights included Norwalk’s interviews with NBC’s “Today in Montana”; two live morning radio shows and a front-page story in the Billings Gazette; a front-page story and accompanying picture from the Courier News in Bridgewater; and an interview with the Arizona Republic in addition to national exposure on a satellite media tour with former HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson. Along with the successful media campaigns, Spectrum was able to assist seniors with opportunities to participate in one-on-one discussions with drug plan representatives in an effort to alleviate specific concerns about the new prescription drug benefit.