Washington Post columnist Harold Meyerson is correct that major legislation such as this "never has emerged from the melding of fundamental differences." In other words, this is going to have to go one way or the other. Either we'll be strapped with a huge new government entitlement that will devour ever larger percentages of the federal budget, or more members of Congress will take the Pence approach and trust their constituents to understand the need to carefully put together a program that will meet the needs of seniors and not break the financial backs of their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
We can't have seniors eating Purina Cat Chow so they can afford their prescriptions. But that's no reason to do this, as Pence's constituents made plain. Analysts put the cost of the current proposal at $400 billion over 10 years, and into the trillions beyond that. Everyone agrees the program will have to be expanded to meet public demand. It has more holes than Swiss cheese now, and it's not nearly as tasty.
Besides, as I've written before, budgeting means nothing in these situations. Congress proposes to make this an entitlement for every senior. One day, under this plan, janitors will subsidize Bill Gates' drug costs. And the amount of money this benefit will cost – absent some sensible controls – is the amount of money the government owes in claims. Once an entitlement becomes law, the taxpayer gets the entire bill, forever and ever, no questions asked.
Today, about one-third of seniors get their prescription-drug coverage through their employers or former employers. And nearly 40 percent of those seniors – their income levels notwithstanding – would shift from being covered by reasonably priced private insurance to a government-subsidized program that already is hemorrhaging cash.
Trust the voters. We understand Congress has a delicate balancing act here. Money is short, and the country is demanding an expensive new benefit. At the same time, we can't obligate the next generation – and the next, and the next – to programs they didn't vote for and never will be able to afford.
It works. Ask Mike Pence.