RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - It takes 19 pills and medicine droppers to keep Clarence Beam on his feet. He stores them in a Tupperware container: painkillers for osteoporosis, Synthroid tablets for his thyroid, glaucoma medicine that an upstairs neighbor drips into his eyes twice a day.

``It's sort of hard, paying for all this,'' said Beam, 92, a retired telegraph operator who spends about $250 a month for prescription drugs and $510 in monthly rent. ``Every so often the rent goes up, and I'm just living on a pension, you know.''

Legislation passed in Virginia's General Assembly aims to help; not with money, but by augmenting a state agency to help Virginians capitalize on a little-known fact: They could get their drugs for free.

Pharmaceutical companies donate millions of dollars of drugs each year for charity. But this resource goes largely untapped because manufacturers expect patients to apply through doctors, many of whom are too busy to handle all of the paperwork, said Del. John J. Welch, R-Virginia Beach, the bill's sponsor.

``We thought there was kind of a false promise there,'' Welch said. ``So we're going to make this public - we're putting it on TV, on the radio, on the Internet.''

Those who could benefit the most would be the hundreds of thousands of seniors in Virginia who receive no assistance in paying for prescription medicine. Too poor to pay for individual medical insurance and too well off to qualify for Medicaid, many are forced to choose each month between paying for food or their prescription drugs.

Virginia is particularly stingy when it comes to health care. To receive prescription coverage under Medicaid seniors would have to make less than $530 per month or pay so many medical bills that their income is effectively about $250 per month, according to the Virginia Poverty Law Center.

For those who make more, the state offers few affordable options.

On Jan. 1, Cigna pulled its Medicare HMO plan, which offered prescription coverage to Medicare recipients for just $25 per month. No other Medicare HMOs are available in most parts of Virginia and comparable Medicare supplement plans cost several times as much.

The Joint Commission on Health Care, the health care research agency for the Virginia legislature, estimates 858,000 people lacked health insurance in 1996. JCHC officials say it is safe to assume that all of these people also lacked prescription insurance.

That number doesn't count the elderly who have Medicare but no prescription insurance. However, the STOP coalition, a health care advocacy group, estimates 263,795 seniors are currently without prescription insurance.

``Some of these people are desperate,'' said Linda Barnhart, local coordinator for the Virginia Insurance Counseling and Assistance Program, which operates a hot line to counsel seniors about health care. ``It's total shock on the other end of the line when they find out they can't afford a supplemental plan.''

If signed into law, Welch's bill would instruct the Health Department to advertise free drug programs and create hot lines to connect people directly with pharmaceutical companies.

People who call in would tell the operator what kind of medicine they're taking. The operator would transfer the caller to a manufacturer representative, who would send the caller an application form to be completed by a doctor.

Welch acknowledges that the steps involved could be cumbersome, but said those who stick it out could receive hundreds of dollars worth of free drugs. He estimates the program would save Virginians about $73 million in drug costs each year.

``If that ain't worth a trip back to the doctor, then what is?'' he said.

According to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), a trade group representing the industry, there are 88 drug assistance programs that provide 48 of the 50 most commonly prescribed brand-name drugs. Each program has different eligibility standards and supplies of free drugs.

For example, SmithKline Beecham offers a drug assistance program for uninsured U.S. residents whose annual income is less than $25,000. Pfizer offers a similar program for single patients with an annual income of less than $12,000 or family income of less than $15,000.

Many programs donate only a set amount of drugs and others require the patient to reapply after three months.

Welch said it would cost $145,000 annually to advertise the program, staff the hot line and install a computer rolodex of drug manufacturers.

It is a tiny amount compared with other spending projects proposed this session, but Lila White, a spokeswoman for Gov. Jim Gilmore, said an ongoing budget dispute still could stall or kill the program. Gilmore has called a special session of the General Assembly in late March to resolve differences over how to revise the state's two-year $50 billion budget.

Robert Baratta, a PhRMA spokesman, said the pharmaceutical industry is supportive of Virginia's attempts to expand access to charity programs. There is no worry among manufacturers about losing money, he said.

Beam, who promises to survive his ailments, is happy for the helping hand.

``Any help would be nice,'' he said. ``My doctor said the other day that I looked younger than 80 ... I'm still on my feet, thank God.''

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