Durston for Congress

Home > Issues > List of Issues >

Medicare (and Medicare Part D)

Until the passage of Medicare Part D in 2003, the Medicare program was an example of a highly efficient and effective government run health care insurance system for seniors and the disabled. The Medicare program had low administrative costs and provided excellent coverage. The Medicare Part D bill, touted by the Bush Administration as a drug benefit for seniors, was in fact written by and for the drug industry. Medicare Part D has many serious flaws, including a prohibition against the government using its purchasing power to leverage down prescription drug costs; the irrational "doughnut hole" gap in coverage between $2,250 and $5,100 in drug expenses; the involvement of numerous private insurance companies (47 in California alone); hopelessly complex paperwork; and a penalty for those who sign up after May 15, 2006. As a U.S. Congressman, I will work to turn the Medicare program back into a an efficient and effective health care insurance system for seniors and the disabled, not corporate welfare for the private pharmaceutical and health insurance industries.

Watch the Durston-Lungren debate segment on Medicare Prescription Drug Benefits.