In 1956, prescription drug bills were a trivial share of the health dollar. Today they consume fully a third of what seniors pay for their health care. The main obstacle to full drug coverage is, of all things, the drug industry. To make drug benefits affordable, the Federal government, through Medicare, would need to use its purchasing power to bargain with the industry for lower drug prices. Only one Federal agency, the Veterans Administration, currently does this, saving the VA medical system billions of dollars.
Most industries gladly trade lower profit margins on each transaction for higher sales volume.
In fact, every other major nation already has a system through which the national health insurance system negotiates with the world's pharmaceutical manufacturers to pay wholesale drug prices. Only in America do we pay retail, and Americans therefore pay between a third and a half more than citizens of other countries for identical drugs. The drug industry defends its pricing structure as the free market speaking. But drug pricing reflects several departures from an ordinary market. It enjoys patent protections which allow monopoly pricing, as well as generous research subsidies and the FDA seal of approval.