The bad news: There are competing plans on Capitol Hill for remedying rising Pentagon prescription drug costs. The good news: At least lawmakers came up with a plan. The Pentagon offered none. The Congressional newspaper The Hill reports that the plans surfaced by the House and Senate are “on a collision course.” Part of the problem are the drug discounts that the Pentagon thought it was entitled to but which drug makers have balked at paying for prescriptions sold through retail pharmacies. All of this, of course, is part and parcel of the Pentagon’s larger problem with health care costs overall. A solution other than raising fees for retirees is still in the making.
Amid a high-profile recruiting crisis, Air Force leaders and experts have increasingly noted the challenging long-term trends the service will face in enticing young Americans to sign up—decreasing eligibility to serve, less propensity to do so, and less familiarity with the military. But while those same leaders say there’s no “silver…