The two parties are almost completely gridlocked on what both claim as a top domestic priority: prescription drug coverage under Medicare.

Democrats have been pushing for this coverage going back to 1997, when President Clinton made it a fundamental principle for modernizing Medicare.

Republicans have counterpunched by claiming to want Rx coverage as much as Democrats, though most of their proposals have been meager and unworkable, designed to force Democrats into complex explanations of what constitutes a "real" drug benefit.

Today, a leading group of centrist Democrats in the House joined principal author Rep. Cal Dooley (D-CA) in introducing a Medicare prescription drug bill that's workable, affordable, and consistent with both current private insurance coverage and future efforts to enhance public coverage. The group of centrist co-sponsors includes DLC Vice Chair Rep. Ellen Tauscher of CA, House New Democrat Coalition co-chairs Jim Davis of FL, Ron Kind of WI, and Adam Smith of WA, Blue Dog Coalition founder Rep. Charles Stenholm of TX, long-time health care reformer Rep. Jim Cooper of TN, Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. of TN, Rep. Baron Hill of IN, Rep. Jane Harman of CA, Rep. Bud Cramer of AL, Rep. Colin Peterson of MN, Rep. Rahm Emanuel of IL, Rep. Artur Davis of AL, Rep. Brad Miller of NC, Rep. Ed Case of HI, Rep. Rick Larsen of WA, Rep. Dennis Cardoza of CA, Rep. Dennis Moore of KS, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy of NY, Rep. Steve Israel of NY, Rep. David Wu of OR, Rep. Jim Marshall of GA, Rep. Ken Lucas of KY, Rep. Jim Matheson of UT, and Karen McCarthy of MO. The proposal is based on an approach developed by the Progressive Policy Institute. Its principles are simple and compelling: reassure the sickest seniors that drug costs won't bankrupt them, help the poorest seniors with comprehensive benefits, provide all seniors with group-purchasing discounts, and don't mess up the coverage that seniors already have.

The benefits are straightforward: all Medicare beneficiaries would be entitled to catastrophic insurance for drug costs over $4,000 a year. This deductible would be waived for low-income beneficiaries. There is no premium, and the benefits would mesh seamlessly with existing coverage, including employer-based retiree policies, privately purchased Medigap supplemental plans, Medicare HMO plans, the Medicaid program for low-income seniors, and other state-based pharmaceutical assistance programs. There are no "doughnut holes" in the benefits, no extra premiums to pay, and no incentives for employers to drop their retiree coverage.

The centrists' drug benefit is universal: all seniors would get a drug card that would provide discounts for all drug purchases. It would also track all of their drug purchases, helping to prevent harmful drug interactions, and helping Medicare administrators target regions of the country where seniors aren't getting the proper preventive medications, and where disease management programs for seniors with chronic illnesses would be most effective.

Because this proposal is so fundamental, it can be built upon in the future with a drug benefit that's more lavish, and that is integrated into a modernized Medicare program in which preventive medicine through prescription drugs is integral to better health outcomes for seniors.

It's much more workable than Republican proposals, and more affordable than many Democratic proposals. It's the right idea at the right time, and Congress would be wise to break the gridlock and move on it.