Erectile Dysfunction Drugs Being Dropped by Medicare Drug Plans Released by: Susan Allen Web Site: http://www.sexualhealthnet.com/ Erectile dysfunction, which primarily plagues senior men, is dropping off the Medicare radar and man Email: susanallen123@gmail.com Keywords: erectile dysfunction,erectile dysfunction treatment,cause of erectile dysfunction,erectile dysfuncti Update Date: 11/6/2006 4:14:28 AM Hits: 115 Descrption:  Viagra, Cialis and Levitra are drugs seniors are just not finding on the formularies. Medical research says, “Most Medicare prescription drug plans will stop covering Viagra and other erectile dysfunction medications next year." About 5 percent of 40-year-old men and between 15 and 25 percent of 65-year-old men experience ED. But it is not an inevitable part of aging, the NIDDK says. According to the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS), for every 1,000 men in the United States, 7.7 physician office visits were made for ED in 1985. By 1999, that rate had nearly tripled to 22.3. This news break came in a story by Mary Jo Feldstein in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, who writes, "Most Medicare prescription drug plans will stop covering Viagra and other erectile dysfunction medications next year." The American Urological Association agrees, saying, "By far, the most important cause of the development of ED is the presence of illnesses like high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, high cholesterol levels and cardiovascular disease. The Department of Veterans Affairs, which covers erectile-dysfunction medications, negotiates discounts on drugs, a tactic Congress has denied Medicare, and they have achieved discounts of up to 50 percent for the ED pills, which usually cost $9 to $11 each. All plans are not dropping the drugs. The Post-Dispatch says United HealthCare Corp., for example, has one Medicare plan that covers the drugs but its others do not. The newspaper article says Medicare will continue to cover the drugs if they're used to treat other conditions, such as pulmonary hypertension, for which they've been approved. The American Cancer Society points out that "men and women seeking help for a sexual problem often go to someone who is not really a health care professional. For more information on erectile Dysfunction treatment options, please visit http://www.sexualhealthnet.info/index.html.