title: Pharmaceuticals in Medicare reform.
abstract: As policy makers explore ways to reform the Medicare system, the inevitable question of prescription drug coverage for the elderly will surface. This is an opportunity to revisit and balance the attractiveness of including a prescription benefit against the fear of increases in expenditures. Prudent examination of the costs and benefits of prescription drug coverage requires looking beyond pharmaceutical product costs.
authors.affiliation: Center on Drugs and Public Policy, School of Pharmacy, University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA.
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: McKercher
mesh_terms: D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000191:economics; D004358:Drug Therapy / Q000191:economics*; D017850:Economics, Pharmaceutical; D018166:Health Care Reform / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D006278:Medicare / Q000639:trends*; D014481:United States