The fact is we can't afford not to. In recent years, we've expanded Medicare to cover flu shots, mammograms and prostate cancer screening. Because we understood that investing in prevention makes sense. It saves dollars, but, more importantly, it saves lives. And the same is true of prescription medicines.
Prescription drugs help people take care of themselves.
Now, back when Medicare was created, no one could have imagined the role prescription medicines play in improving health today. Well, that was then. And this is now. In the last 20 years, consumer spending on prescription drugs has increased dramatically, providing great benefits, but also real costs. Well, the fact is a lot of them can't.