AS VEGAS - Pitching himself as the enemy of HMOs and the ally of American workers, Vice President Al Gore yesterday went all-out to woo women voters and also locked up the endorsement of another key constituency, the Teamsters.
In a state suddenly up for grabs, Gore drew a foot-stomping crowd to a small gymnasium at the University of Nevada. Standing before a backdrop of nurses and other medical professionals, he promised new protections for women who belong to managed-care plans and slammed Republican rival George W. Bush, accusing him of kowtowing to special interests such as HMOs.
The week's emphasis for the Democratic nominee is expected to be on health care, and Gore started a three-day Western swing by calling for legislation ''to make sure women get the best health care, not just the cheapest,'' especially women with breast cancer. Gore told the rally he would push for screening programs to detect cancer, as well as return the power to patients from the hands of HMOs.
''Let's put an end to the HMO penalties and incentives that encourage doctors and nurses to give women substandard care,'' Gore said. ''That's wrong and it ought to be against the law.''
Health care in general, and prescription drug costs in particular, have emerged as key issues, with both the Democrats and the Republicans battling it out over whose plan would benefit how many patients.
Before yesterday's rally, Gore met with local health care professionals and tennis pro Andre Agassi, whose mother and sister have breast cancer.
Tieless and in short sleeves against the oppressive Las Vegas heat, Gore used his early afternoon remarks to highlight the Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act, sponsored by Senators Olympia Snowe, Republican of Maine, and Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California. Among other items, the bill would allow for second opinions from doctors and require HMOs to cover minimum hospital stays for women who undergo mastectomies, lumpectomies, and lymph node dissections.
As it stands, Gore said, HMOs are substituting accounting judgments for medical ones. ''It's time to take the medical decisions away from HMOs and give them back to the doctors,'' he said.
Gore added that patients should have the right to see a specialist if necessary and to visit the nearest emergency room possible in case of accident.
Before heading to Los Angeles - where he planned to attend a high-priced fund-raiser expected to include members of the Hollywood elite he and his running mate have chastised in recent days - Gore collected the previously announced endorsement of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters at its convention for political union activists.
''Our endorsement process has taken a long and winding trail, but it's not how you begin the journey, it's how you end the journey, and we end the journey with Al Gore,'' said Teamsters general president James P. Hoffa.
With more than 1.5 million members in the United States and Canada, the Teamsters said its political action committee is the second largest in the nation.
Although the union has typically endorsed Democrats for president, the Teamsters held off this year, making it appear possible that Bush could receive the endorsement. The Teamsters' backing came as Gore gained on Bush in Nevada, which was considered a lock for the Republicans only a few months ago.
In June, a Mason-Dixon poll showed Bush with a 12-point lead. But Gore continues to build on the momentum of the Democratic Convention in August, and a new poll put him just four percentage points behind Bush, 42-46.
Speakers who preceded Gore yesterday took advantage of their location in the gambling capital, with one employing one metaphor after another: ''Bush is a bad bet for Nevada,'' and the state now has a ''chance for a trifecta,'' by voting for a Democrat for the third time.
