HELENA -- The Lewis and Clark County Democratic Central Committee passed a resolution Tuesday night denouncing Democratic U.S. Sen. Max Baucus' support for the Medicare bill, with some prescription drug benefits, before Congress.

It is highly unusual for a local political party central committee to formally criticize a top elected official from that party. Baucus is the state's senior elected official and the senior Democratic elected official, holding state or federal office since 1973.

''This horrendous bill is a first step toward the goal of the Republican Congress and the Bush administration to destroy Medicare through privatization," said Paul Edwards, vice president of the county central committee. ''We condemn Senator Baucus' contribution to that effort."

As the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, Baucus played a key role in helping negotiate the bill.

Gene Fenderson, executive secretary of the Montana Progressive Labor Caucus, made the motion to condemn Baucus' support of the bill. The eight or nine central committee members present approved the motion on a voice vote by what Edwards estimated to be a 4-to-1 margin. Edwards said the turnout at the meeting was about average for a local central committee gathering.

Edwards said the current bill is nowhere close to the better bill originally passed by the U.S. Senate earlier this year, a compromise bill that garnered bipartisan support.

''This perverse monopoly exploits the pain and suffering of the poorest aged among us to facilitate a process that could erode and impair a program that ought only to be improved and strengthened," Edwards said.

The resolution calls on other county Democratic central committees and the state party to join the Lewis and Clark County Central Committee in condemning Baucus' actions and demonstrating strong opposition to this Medicare bill.

In response, Baucus spokesman Barrett Kaiser said Wednesday, ''Max doesn't think we should be playing politics. Instead, Congress should provide Montana seniors with a prescription drug benefit right now."

''Max was able to get these strong low-income provisions in the bill," Kaiser said. ''It's not a perfect bill. It's a good bill. Max believes that we shouldn't play politics and instead of providing seniors with prescription drugs right now."

Kaiser said Baucus is proud of his work on the Medicare bill ''because it will make good on the promise we made to seniors, boost rural health care and help provide quality affordable health care to Montanans."

Baucus did live video conferences Wednesday with seniors, senior group representatives and health-care providers in Billings and Missoula, Kaiser said. Participants at both meetings were positive about the bill, Kaiser said, and state leaders of the AARP, Montana Medical Association and Montana Hospital Association said they back the bill.

Baucus' spokesman said the particular prescription drug benefit levels are still being negotiated, with the possibility the deductible could drop and the benefit could rise.

Kaiser said 138,000 Montanans are on Medicare. Of those, 34.3 percent or 46,000 who are below 150 percent of the federal poverty level, or a $13,500 annual income per person. Under the bill, they'll get a full benefit, with all prescriptions covered at no cost.

About 95,000 other seniors on Medicare in Montana will get the standard prescription drug benefit, Kaiser said. Seniors would pay an average monthly premium of $35, and after meeting a $275 annual deductible, Medicare would pay 75 percent of the drug costs above that up to $2,200 annually, he said.

For seniors with annual prescription drug costs between $2,200 and $3,600 in total out-of-pocket spending, they would have access to negotiated prices for their prescriptions, but would be responsible for the full price of their drugs, he said.

The bill would cover so-called catastrophic costs, or high drug expenses, above the $3,600 total out-of-pocket spending threshold. The cost to seniors would be capped at not more than 5 percent above the catastrophic stop-loss or $3,600.