This brief discusses policies needed to ensure equitable and universal access by all those in need globally to future vaccines for SARS-Cov-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and treatments for the disease. It provides a snapshot of the vaccine and drug candidates in the current R&D pipeline. It...

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...