THE VILLAGES - At the March 19 meeting of The Villages Property Owners Association, members had the chance to find out about Medicare issues and Canadian prescription services, and to hear from a residents' rights advocate.

First up for the night was Harold Barnes, area coordinator of the Serving Health Insurance Needs of Elders organization, who was on hand to update members about Medicare programs. Barnes talked about a new program in which Medicare may pay for certain medications to help stop smoking, and also spoke about a class he is planning to better educate Medicare recipients about paperwork involved with the plan.

Barnes said the class, "Controlling Medicare and Supplement Paperwork," most likely would take place sometime in May, and that it has been in the works for about six months. He said people continually approach him, puzzled about the paperwork involved in Medicare.

"There is so much confusion," Barnes said. "This is preventative medicine to help."

Marlene Finnegan from Canada Rx Shop in Lady Lake briefly spoke about the benefits of having prescriptions filled in Canada - the best of which is the huge savings in costs.

"It's scary for people to have to pay out of pocket," Finnegan said.

The last speaker of the night was Jan Bergemann, president of Cyber Citizens For Justice, a resident advocate group based in St. Augustine that focuses on issues associated with homeowners and property owners associations and community development districts, among others. The POA has an informal alliance with CCFJ, often using the CCFJ Web site to post articles of interest and working with CCFJ on proposed legislation.

Bergemann, a retired chef who moved to Florida in 1995, first got the idea to form CCFJ after he, and other residents, encountered what he calls "developer fraud" within his homeowners association. Bergemann said this kind of dishonesty among mandated properties - in which there are developer-imposed restrictions - is more prevalent than most people buying homes in Florida know.

"The industry doesn't want you to know," Bergemann said. "The developers don't want you to know, and the realtors don't want you to know, because many people would change their mind before signing on the dotted line."

CCFJ currently is working on getting the Mandated Property Task Force bill passed. The legislation calls for the creation of a task force of legislators, homeowners, consumer advocates, various industry representatives and a deputy from the attorney general's office to basically oversee and regulate all types of mandated properties.

Bergemann said that having a large force of residents involved is the only edge they have in the issue. He said the more people joined together, the better the chance of making changes.

"Big money and many lobbyists are standing in our way," Bergemann said. "And since money and power are working against us, we only have the power of numbers."