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Previous Volume 344:1010-1015 March 29, 2001 Number 13 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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Prescription-drug coverage is now provided for the vast majority of persons enrolled in private health insurance, Medicaid, or plans for government employees, veterans, and active military personnel. The 40 million elderly and disabled persons enrolled in Medicare have the greatest need for affordable access to prescription drugs. But even though the elderly are a politically influential group, Medicare does not have a universal outpatient drug benefit because Congress has been unable to agree on how to design and pay for it. The prospects for a Medicare drug benefit may soon improve, since virtually all members of Congress support it, the . . . [Full Text of this Article]

The Rising Cost of Prescription Drugs

Expansion of Private Coverage

Reform Measures

The 107th Congress

Bush's Two-Stage Medicare Strategy

The Democratic Alternative

The Uncertain Road Ahead

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