On the recordMay 23, 2000
In 1965, America proved its humanity and proved the level of its civilization by caring for its elderly and eventually extending that Medicare benefit to the disabled. When it did so, it did not include a prescription drug benefit. It did not, because it was an awful lot to accomplish just to get the physician coverage and the hospital coverage. At that time, prescription drugs were not nearly as utilized as they are today. But, today, the miracles of modern pharmaceutical industry, the miracles provided by the work on the human genome and biological products have brought us to a point where if you do not have access to a pharmaceutical drug benefit, you do not have access to first rate health care, you do not have access to the best health care in the world.
Source
govinfo.gov
