Thursday, July 7, 2005
Contact: Jessica Robinson, (573) 751-0290
Blunt Directs End to Wasteful Medicaid Spending
Calls for DMS to Stop Providing Erectile Dysfunction Drugs at Taxpayers’ Expense
JEFFERSON CITY – Gov. Matt Blunt directed the Division of Medical Services (DMS) to immediately stop providing erectile dysfunction (ED) drugs to Missouri Medicaid recipients.
"In almost all cases, these drugs are not medically necessary or an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars. The drugs are about lifestyle choices, not medical needs," Blunt said. "This is just another example of the frivolous use of taxpayer dollars that I and my administration are working diligently to end."
The only acceptable use of ED drugs by the state’s Medicaid program will be for the treatment of certain pulmonary conditions.
From May 2004 to May 2005 Missouri taxpayers spent almost $200,000 on ED drugs.
Eliminating ED drugs from the state’s Medicaid is another commonsense approach to ending waste, fraud, and abuse in the program and follows recent news that the state had paid for ED prescriptions for 26 registered sex offenders during the past year.
###