| Tuesday, February 01, 2005 |
| Erections prescribed only when medically necessary |
Yeah, RIGHT.
Medicare is planning to cover Viagra and Cialis??? Otherwise known as: when old white men make the rules.???
How the F----K about having universal coverage for birth control pills and other contraceptive devices for the uninsured and underinsured?? Obviously Medicare coverage for contraception is a silly notion, but MANY health insurance plans don't cover it at all, or severely limit coverage. Once a new drug or treatment is "sanctioned" by Medicare, most insurance companies fall into line and cover it as well, because if it's good enough for the government to pay for, then.....
Argggh - this one just burns me.
Women have to pay full load for contraception in most cases - a full 40 years after the pill was originally developed. After only 4 years on the market, Viagra becomes the next aspirin.
According to the Contraception Report, in 1998, fewer than 15% of indemnity plans covered all five leading reversible prescription methods (OCs, injectables, implants, intrauterine devices, and diaphragms). Nearly half (49%) covered none of the five leading methods. Only one in three indemnity policies covered oral contraceptives.
Yet, the responsibility for contraception is supposedly still the women's responsibility. Men seem to feel we should take responsibility for the use of pills and other forms of birth control, but men can purchase condoms like they purchase aspirin. But try and get birth control pills or other physician prescribed remedies through your insurance, and it's suddenly - "optional", " additional coverage", or - "this is not included in the co-pay".
And don't even get me started on the cost or coverage of HIV / AIDS drugs.....
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posted by Broadsheet @ 11:41 PM   |
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| 3 Editorial Opinions: |
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um...how about coverage for HIV/AIDS medications, so people don't drop dead?
How about coverage for those meds in Africa?!?
(we spend more on BOTOX in this country (out of pocket, of course)...than Alzheimer's research. Values, eh?)
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How about the pharmaceutical industry not being allowed to gouge Americans for the same medication they sell elsewhere for a tenth the price, and how about them not being allowed to make billions with infinite markups on drugs researched with taxpayer money? How about Big Pharma and the Insurance industry having a soul, or morals, or a spate of exceptionally long fraud sentences? Not bloody likely.
When rich old white men make the rules, it's not just women that suffer; it's everyone, including them. They've just seen to it that they're better insulated. We need to learn that short-term profit is no way to run the world.
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First off, I am really irritated with those insurance companies. My friend in the US pays more for her coverage than her husband. When she asked why, the company said that, as a woman, she was subject to "female problems." Then my friend shot back, "But you guys don't even cover my 'female problems' so why am I paying to have them treated?"
Secondly, I heard that, while Viagra does increase 'stamina', the women still have to endure really mind-numbingly boring sex.
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um...how about coverage for HIV/AIDS medications, so people don't drop dead?
How about coverage for those meds in Africa?!?
(we spend more on BOTOX in this country (out of pocket, of course)...than Alzheimer's research. Values, eh?)