Posted on 02/01/2005 12:24:15 PM PST by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Viagra, the blockbuster impotence drug, will be paid for under Medicare's new prescription drug coverage, officials said on Tuesday.
A new prescription drug coverage law that takes effect next year means the government health insurance plan for the elderly must offer to help pay for medically necessary drugs, the officials said.
That would include sildenafil, sold by Pfizer under the brand name Viagra, and other erectile dysfunction drugs.
"If it's an illness then Medicare can cover it," a Health and Human Services (news - web sites) spokesman said.
"There is no new broad Medicare rule to cover Viagra," said Gary Karr, a spokesman for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which administers Medicare, Medicaid and other programs.
"The Medicare law specifically states that if a drug is approved by the FDA (news - web sites) (Food and Drug Administration (news - web sites)) and is medically necessary, then it is supposed to be covered."
Karr said the "medically necessary" part is important.
"These kind of drugs are going to have a very minor impact on the drug benefit," he said. "Millions more are going to be spent on ... cholesterol-lowering drugs."
Karr said he believed the drugs would only rarely qualify for Medicare reimbursement.
"These particular drugs are sometimes prescribed because another medical condition makes it necessary -- if there is a vascular problem, that sort of thing," Karr added.
Citizens Against Government Waste criticized the move.
"Not to stiff the elderly from having a little fun, but asking Uncle Sam to pay for the romance of 76 million baby boomers will quicken the impending collapse of Medicare," the group's president, Tom Schatz, said in a statement.
But some doctors say there are legitimate reasons to provide Viagra.
Several studies have shown that Viagra and other impotence drugs can lure men to doctors who might otherwise not get early, preventive care.
Italian researchers found last year that men with diabetes who also have trouble getting an erection may have heart disease and not even realize it.
Some doctors believe that erectile dysfunction could be an early symptom of more serious underlying disease.
Viagra was originally studied as a heart drug and earlier this month a team at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine found that Viagra may also help prevent the abnormal growth of the heart seen in some types of heart disease.
Didn't get any takers.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.