MARINETTE, Wis. -- In hundreds of meetings with millions of its members to promote a health-care overhaul, AARP, the huge organization for older Americans, has often found itself forced to referee a battle between generations.

Its 40 million members are split about evenly between those who have access to Medicare, the federal government's health program for the elderly, and those who are too young to be eligible for such benefits. The younger members, between 50 and 64, sometimes face terrible choices in the private-insurance market, with age and declining health making premiums high and benefits poor. But members 65 or older get among the most-secure medical benefits in the country, and many are in no mood to share.

On Tuesday, the fight came to Marinette, Wis., a town of die-hard Green Bay Packers fans. At a restaurant next to the Menominee River, Karen Rasmussen, 58, told 38 AARP members at a dinner gathering that she and her husband, who has cancer, are being crushed by medical debts. "We're hoping the government can do something because this is just breaking our backs," Rasmussen said.

Don Nichols, who is 85 and has had Medicare benefits for 20 years, responded that those who complain about insurance premiums have only themselves to blame. "If they quit their smoking and drinking, they would be able to afford it," Nichols said.

Nichols' daughter, Donna Green, said she has a bare-bones insurance policy that she has had to renew every six months after her husband, Jeff Green, was laid off as a boat designer. At 55, she must wait 10 years before being eligible for Medicare, and she is worried, she said.

For AARP, this divide mirrors a larger generational debate. Proposals on Capitol Hill to expand health-care coverage largely rest on forcing younger and healthier people to get insurance, expanding the money available to subsidize care for the elderly. But the proposals also count on about $400 billion in savings in the Medicare program over 10 years. In effect, the young and the old are being asked to sacrifice for the middle-aged.

For AARP, bridging this generational divide has become a delicate task. Some of AARP's older members are furious, and tens of thousands have resigned in protest. But organization leaders say that much of their efforts are focused on strengthening Medicare and that they must also be mindful of the needs of younger members. Further, the departures represent a fraction of 1 percent of the organization's members, who pay annual dues of $16.

David Certner, director of legislative policy for AARP, said one in four 60-year-olds in the country cannot get health insurance.

"I can't tell you how many people in that age category tell me, 'I'm just praying that I don't get sick until I get Medicare,'  " Certner said. AARP's name is attached to some private health-insurance products.

AARP's intensive campaign to soothe the concerns of older members could have a significant impact on the success of overhaul legislation. In Wisconsin, the group has held 37 dinner meetings in the past six weeks. Nationwide, organization officials have met or talked by phone with 1 million members, left voice messages with nearly 4 million more and sent letters to 8 million.

These efforts might be paying off. Polls show that support for an overhaul gradually declined to 53 percent in August, but as AARP's meetings kicked into high gear and President Barack Obama spoke out forcefully for an overhaul, support rose in September to 57 percent, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

But sacrifice can be a tough sell, no matter the age. At a dinner meeting Wednesday in nearby Sturgeon Bay, Wis., Lisa Lamkins, AARP's advocacy director in Wisconsin, asked 40 people how many would be willing "to pay a bit more to cover everyone in this country with decent health care."

About a third of those present raised their hands, split evenly among those older than 65 and those younger.

Priscilla Brockett, 59, said all Americans have access to good care. "They just present themselves to the emergency room," Brockett said.

In contrast, Judy Treptow, 63, said she has been retired for about a year and has been paying exorbitant health-insurance premiums for a policy that pays for few preventive services. Her husband is on Medicare.

Fred Born, who at 65 only recently became eligible for Medicare, said: "It's a shame when people lose their homes because of health-care costs."