1. Policy process / Alan Lyles -- 2. Federal legislative process / Valerie Heitshusen -- 3. Role of federal regulations and how they are developed / Curtis W. Copeland -- 4. Access, quality, and cost / Julie A. Schmittdiel and Marsha Raebel -- 5. Why is medication use less than appropriate? /...

When the Medicare program was created in 1965, outpatient prescription drugs were left out of the benefit package, a decision that maintained consistency with standard private insurance plans of the time. Cost was one factor behind the exclusion, but a more fundamental reason related to the role...