Historically, Medicare has not included coverage for outpatient prescription drugs. Given the important role of prescription drugs in health care, and the rising costs of these drugs, several proposals to add a drug benefit to Medicare have been proposed in the past. The most recent - the Medicare Modernization Act - passed in 2003 and created Medicare Part D – an outpatient prescription drug benefit.

In the period leading up to passage of the Medicare Modernization Act, there was overwhelming support for the addition of a prescription drug benefit to Medicare. Between eight and nine in ten Americans supported providing prescription drug coverage for seniors through Medicare, and this support was very consistent over time.