Example #2 Viagra for TeachersIts astonishing. I didn't realize sex was a "lifestyle". Only Republicans would view that as an inessential part of life. Anyhow. Lets leave aside the argument about whether sexual health is a health issue or a lifestyle.
The Milwaukee Teachers' Education Association (MTEA) tried to use a policy established by collective bargaining to obtain health insurance coverage that specifically paid for Viagra. Cost to taxpayers is $786,000 a year.
The health insurer claims it will save $786,000 dollars per year if its approximately 1,000 enrollees can no longer get Viagra. By my estimate, thats approximately 786 dollars in viagra a year, or about 7 bottles of 6 100mg pills. Now I'm not sure - but I've heard - you can break those into 50mg pills and do quite well.
So that means the average enrollee is getting 84 doses. Assuming they can never have sex without a help from their little blue friend that means they are having sex 84 times a year.
A majority of Americans married, partnered, single, any age have sex less than weekly. So we either have some fishy numbers, some hypersexual teachers (and their covered partners), or they are selling/providing them to friends.
Demanding Viagra is not the problem, having a system that allows you to get more than you could plausibly use is a problem. But the problem isn't directly with the teachers union, it with the incentives of the insurer. It needs to curb demand another way.
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