Washington (H24N). Appearing in his first online chat, Republican presidential hopeful George W. Bush fielded numerous questions related to health care and reforming the Medicare system.

The event was in a high school in Hampton, N.H., during a scheduled campaign stop.

One of the first medically related questions came from a CNN.com online user who asked Bush if he would nominate new Supreme Court justices who are ardent pro-life supporters – and who would presumably seek to overturn the 1973 Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.

Bush stuck to his campaign message of not subjecting his appointees to a "litmus test" on the issue.

"If elected, I will support Supreme Court judges who will strictly interpret the Constitution," Bush told the chat room.

Trying to counter the weeklong promotion of health policies conducted by his Democratic opponent, Vice President Al Gore, Bush spoke about his plans for adding a prescription drug benefit to Medicare for senior citizens.

"I am for changing the Medicare system to allow seniors to have more options from which to choose," Bush said. "The Medicare system is so antiquated, and there is no prescription drug benefit in the plan today.

"I think we ought to have prescription drug benefits available for seniors in basic health-care plans from which they get to choose," he said.

Bush went on to blast Gore and his boss, President Clinton, for failing to reform the current Medicare system.

"When it comes to Medicare, this administration has had seven years to get something done – seven years, and nothing has happened," Bush said.

The Gore camp was quick to respond to the allegations, charging the Texas governor with misleading the American public.

"Governor Bush continues to show a lack of credibility on the issues," Gore’s spokesman, Doug Hattaway, said in a statement. "Today, he misled a national TV audience with the false claim that nothing has been done to protect Medicare. In fact, this administration helped reform Medicare and keep it from going broke."

Gore and his vice presidential pick, Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, were in Oregon promoting a plan to take Medicare off the national budget and secure its funds to help serve the current 40 million enrollees – a number that is expected to grow to 80 million over the next 10 years.

Bush, who has come under intense scrutiny from Gore on the prescription drug issue, is expected to release a detailed plan for providing prescription drugs as part of Medicare next week.

Bush has said in the past that he favors bipartisan legislation for a prescription drug Medicare benefit offered by Sens. John Breaux (D-La.) and Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), the Senate’s only licensed physician.

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