U.S. bill would outlaw taxpayer coverage of Viagra

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No federal money could be spent to pay for Pfizer Inc.’s Viagra and other drugs for enhancing sexual performance under legislation unveiled on Tuesday by a key Republican senator.

Viagra and competing impotence treatments Levitra and Cialis are “lifestyle” drugs that taxpayers should not have to cover, said Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.

The Congressional Budget Office recently estimated the Medicare and Medicaid health insurance programs would spend $2 billion on such drugs between 2006—when new Medicare prescription drug benefits start—and 2015.

“We live in a world of limited resources and those dollars could be spent more wisely,” Grassley said.

Medicare is the federal health insurance program that covers 43 million elderly and disabled Americans. The White House projects Medicare’s total cost of covering prescription drugs over the next decade at $724 billion.

Gary Karr, spokesman for the agency that runs Medicare, said the amount the program expected to pay for impotence treatments was small compared with other medicines.

“Financially, it’s not a big impact,” he said, adding the coverage issue “is not necessarily a debate about financial impact, but whether, or not it’s appropriate.”

Medicaid is a joint state and federal health insurance plan that provides coverage for 50 million poor Americans.

Grassley’s bill would prohibit any federal program from spending money on Viagra, Levitra and Cialis when the drugs are prescribed for sexual performance. Researchers are studying other uses of the drugs and the legislation would not prevent coverage if the medicines were used for other treatments, Grassley said.

Karr said states have the power to limit their coverage of such drugs. On Monday, the agency told states not to cover the drugs for convicted sexual offenders after news reports that some states, including New York and Florida, had done so.

By law the agency does not reimburse for medicines for weight loss, fertility, or hair growth, among others. If lawmakers expand that list to include sexual performance drugs, the agency will comply, Karr said.

“If Congress makes that decision, we’ll abide by it,” he said.

Eli Lilly & Co. and Icos Corp. sell Cialis. Levitra is sold by Bayer AG and GlaxoSmithKline Plc. Schering-Plough Corp. took over U.S. marketing rights for Levitra from Bayer last year. 

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