The House voted Friday to ban Medicare and Medicaid from paying for impotence drugs. The New York Times reports that Medicaid had been spending about $15 million a year on those drugs.
Iowa Republican Steve King, sponsor of the bill, said, "We provide drugs through Medicare and Medicaid that are lifesaving drugs; we don't pay for lifestyle drugs." King also was quoted saying it was wrong to tell taxpayers that "we're going to take the money you earned on overtime to pay for Grandpa's Viagra."
Among the opponents of the ban was Rep. Jay Inslee of Washington, who said, "There is a value for Congress not to dictate to people what is important in their own lives."
The ban would still have to be approved in the Senate.
Posted by schwitz at June 27, 2005 08:20 AM | TrackBack