Prescription Drugs and Medicare
Rising Costs and Declining Spending
One of lawmakers’ highest health-related priorities is adding a prescription drug benefit to Medicare. Although that program gives older Americans broad insurance coverage for many health needs, it provides only limited coverage of drugs not dispensed during a hospital stay. That gap in coverage has become increasingly significant as prescription drugs have assumed greater importance in the treatment of disease and as spending for outpatient prescription drugs has soared. Spending for prescription drugs is the fastest-growing segment of U.S. health care costs, and Medicare beneficiaries (people who are 65 or older or disabled) account for a disproportionate share of that…
