Stiffening Up Medicare Benefits

Nobody likes to pay taxes, but those taxes help not only your neighbor but you as well. We all just hope that our taxes will be used properly for reasons we agree with. A relatively large portion of our taxes goes toward Medicare among other programs. This CBS News article reports that under a new law passed Medicare benefits will cover Viagra, the sensational new drug that helps men with Erectile Dysfunction. As with all drugs, Viagra will only be “prescribed only when medically necessary, and in limited quantities.” Unlike the users of Viagra I find this very hard to swallow.
It seems very important in Healthcare, as well as in anything, to examine the economic benefits of a decision. All I can hope is that the utmost scrutiny and economic evaluation will be placed on any decision involving the drug. Doctors as well as patients need to remember that every decision has an opportunity cost. Unfortunately every decision will not be a pleasant one. This one should be very easy though.