Originally published July 17 2005
Medicaid recipients may lose coverage for Viagra
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Kansas City's Infozine recently had an article about plans to eliminate coverage of erectile dysfunction medication for all Medicaid patients.
A recent report that 14 states' Medicaid programs provided the impotence drug to convicted sex offenders whipped up a national uproar and has spurred at least seven states to consider cutting off Viagra and similar medications for all those on Medicaid.
The controversy comes amid national debate over Medicaid reform, with some officials pointing at reimbursements for Viagra as just the latest example of how federal and state dollars could be better spent.
Although spending on Viagra and similar drugs accounted for a fraction of 1 percent of total Medicaid spending in the past year, the program's advocates worry that the scandal could sully Medicaid as Congress this summer considers a five-year, $10 billion cut to the state-federal program for poor and disabled Americans.
The federal government last month informed states that they must halt Viagra payments for all sexual offenders.
But New York, Florida and Texas have gone even further and temporarily banned Medicaid reimbursements for Viagra for everyone, and Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina and Virginia are proposing to take Viagra off the list of Medicaid-covered drugs.
George Pataki (R) temporarily has halted all payments for the drug until the state Legislature enacts measures to exclude sex offenders.
The New York audit prompted other investigations, including a May 28 report from The Associated Press that nearly 800 convicted sex offenders in 14 states were reimbursed through Medicaid for Viagra, Cialis and Levitra, the three drugs the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved to treat erectile dysfunction in men.
Mark Warner (D), chairman of the National Governors Association, issued an emergency order halting reimbursements for the 52 registered sex offenders in his state who were receiving Viagra and instructed state health officials to investigate whether to ban any Medicaid payments for the erectile dysfunction drugs, regardless of a patient's criminal history.
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