Again, profit trumps all in a story relegated to a couple of column inches on page A8. Without actually researching this fact, because I'm a bona-fide Slacker, I am pretty sure that birth control is not covered, nor are condoms.
Medicare's new prescription benefit will cover sexual performance drugs, such as Viagra, in addition to medications for such ailments as high blood pressure and heart disease, program officials confirmed Monday.The move into what some consider “lifestyle,” rather than life-saving, pharmaceuticals is being criticized by conservatives, who see it as an unnecessary frill for a program that is projected to cost at least $400 billion over its first decade.
Clinical experts said that from a medical perspective, the decision follows the practices of private insurance plans and other government programs.
“There are many drugs that are approved for quality-of-life indications,” said Dr. Ira Sharlip, a urologist and professor at the University of California, San Francisco. Among them are prescription drugs for indigestion or mild pain, he added.
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p.s., I bought Slacker recently, and I know about 10 people in it, and have met another 10 or so. Slacker is as good a portrait of my Austin years as any crappy short story or diary I wrote at the time.
“Slacker - Criterion Collection” (Richard Linklater)
