SCARBOROUGH (AP) – The federal government’s “dream team” of top doctors kicked off a three-state visit to New England on Wednesday to spread the word about Medicare prescription drug coverage that takes effect in less than six months.

Mark McClellan, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, told seniors gathered outside the Southern Maine Agency on Aging that the program will offer the most important new benefit in Medicare’s 40-year history, providing an average of $1,300 next year to the typical beneficiary.

“But these are voluntary benefits, so people have to make a decision about them,” he said. “And that’s why we’re here.”

McClellan was joined by Surgeon General Richard Carmona, Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Elias Zerhouni, director of the National Institutes of Health.

Boarding a multi-colored bus billboarding “Medicare Rx Prescription Drug Coverage,” the group later headed to Manchester, N.H., and Worcester, Mass. The bus also carried a reminder of the key dates that their tour is seeking to publicize: “Sign-up Starts: Nov. 15, 2005” and “Coverage Begins: Jan. 1, 2006.”

The doctors began the day by meeting with representatives of social service agencies, state and local government leaders, and health care professionals. The federal officials were seeking to employ community-based resources to help educate and enroll seniors in the new program.

Details of the coverge have yet to be spelled out, and among the concerns raised at the session was whether benzodiazepines, commonly used to ease anxiety, would be covered.

Outside the building, old Sinatra tunes warmed up a crowd that included seniors before the doctors appeared. But the audio system conked out before the presentation and those in the audience had to strain to hear some of their remarks.

The federal officials emphasized the growing importance of medicines in helping to prevent and manage serious illnesses and said the new benefit would improve the nation’s health by expanding access to drugs.

They urged community groups to reach out to the elderly to inform them about the coverage. The monthly premium for the coverage is expected to be about $37, they said, but seniors with limited incomes are eligible for assistance that could cover 95 percent of their costs.

Applications for the low-income subsidy are already available, and McClellan advised people to complete the forms even if they are not sure that they qualify. “When in doubt, fill it out,” he said.

Among those skeptical of the new program was Paulette Beaudoin of Biddeford, vice president of the Maine Council of Senior Citizens, who complained to McClellan that it does nothing to curb the rapid rise in drug costs.

In an interview after the gathering, Beaudoin complained about the plan’s gap in coverage.

“Most of the people will fall into that doughnut hole, and once they do it will make things horrendous,” she said. “People will spend more than they do now.”

McClellan said competition will help to keep down drug prices and premiums.

“There are going to be choices for everybody everywhere in Maine in how they’re going to get coverage,” he said.

U.S. Rep. Tom Allen, who voted against the Medicare drug law, said in a telephone interview that there was “some value” in Wednesday’s visit but the complexity of the program is going to raise problems for many seniors.

Democrat Allen said he has introduced legislation to extend the period in which “dual eligibles” – those who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid – can shift to the new program.

McClellan recently visited several states in the South to promote the new benefit, but his stop in Maine was the first in which he was joined by Carmona, Gerberding and Zerhouni. Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt planned to make stops in Boston, Providence, R.I., and Albany, N.Y., to spread a similar message.

Local leaders were impressed that such a distinguished group of physicians had come to Maine.

“We’ve had doctors here before, but we’ve never had doctors like this,” said Larry Gross, executive director of the Southern Maine Agency on Aging.

“This is pretty much the dream team,” said Rep. Darlene Curley, R-Scarborough.

AP-ES-07-13-05 1358EDT