Obama pitching seniors on health bill

By ERICA WERNER Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama is turning his attention back to the massive health care bill he signed earlier this year, and trying to win over the most skeptical constituency: seniors.

Obama is set to pitch the bill at a senior center in Wheaton, Md., on Tuesday. The event will be broadcast live, and the White House has worked with outside groups to organize scores of events around the country at which seniors can listen by phone and ask questions.

The timing coincides with the release later this week of the first batch of $250 checks to seniors who fall into Medicare's prescription drug coverage gap, known as the "doughnut hole." The checks are the first tangible benefits most recipients will be seeing from the law.