Rush Limbaugh Apologizes For His "Slut" Remarks.

photo-fish wrote: "The Pill" is NOT used for contraception alone. What other use does Viagra have?

Prescriptions aren't always covered by your health insurance, depends on what kind of plan, you or your company buys. I know Viagra isn't covered where I work.

What other use does Viagra have? Well, if the guy has an undiagnosed heart condition, it just might add that guy to the list on the Darwin Awards. But wait, that's another issue - the theory of evolution, another abomination to the Catholic Church.

I also find it interesting that while the Catholic Church is against vasectomies, vasectomies are performed in their hospitals, as long as the hospital gets paid.

Sounds more like it's all about the money.

Edited to add: What a wonderful topic for International Women's Day. Education and contraception are two of the most important factors in bringing women out of poverty.

The fact is that contraception prevents pregnancy by creating a biological dysfunction within the woman's reproductive system. Dysfunction is impaired or abnormal functioning, which precisely describes the effects of "The Pill" on the woman's reproductive system. There are 4 ways that it prevents pregnancy - all of them are dysfunctions of the reproductive system. Suppressed ovulation, an altered (thicker) cervical mucous, an altered (thinner) endometrium and alterations to the movement of the fallopian tubes.

Viagra corrects biological dysfunction - "The Pill" causes it. You are literally asking for health insurance to pay the entire cost for causing dysfunction within a woman's body Kate. Dress your argument up however you like, put as much lipstick on it as you wish - at the end of the day what it all boils down to is asking that health insurance pay for causing dysfunction within the body. As a consequence of addressing another dysfunction - excessively heavy menstruation, irregular menstruation, hormonal imbalance which induces alteration of moods, growths on the ovaries - "The Pill" can certainly be understood as being prescribed to correct that dysfunction, just as Viagra is prescribed to correct a dysfunction in men. And, under those circumstances, I would agree that it should be covered by health insurance because its primary intention is to address an existing dysfunction, not create a separate dysfunction, within a woman's body.

What is unfathomable is saying that a health insurance company has to cover the entire cost of creating dysfunction within the body solely for the purpose of creating that dysfunction.

photo-fish wrote: "The Pill" is NOT used for contraception alone.

I have recognized this many times over the course of the discussion fish - and been an advocate for having insurance cover "The Pill" in the same manner as it covers any other prescription when it is not used solely for contraceptive purposes. When it is prescribed to correct dysfunction the dysfunction it creates by rendering the woman sterile is a side effect of treating the other dysfunction that she is experiencing. In such instances the primary intent is still to correct dysfunction that exists, not create dysfunction where it does not exist.

I'm not sure what world you live in, PrintSmith, but I'm glad I'm not there with you. Stating that the prevention of pregnancy is a dysfunction is ludicrous. Your steadfast refusal to look at the real world with any sense of logic and common sense is amusing, to say the least.

FredHayek wrote:

photo-fish wrote: "The Pill" is NOT used for contraception alone. What other use does Viagra have?

Prescriptions aren't always covered by your health insurance, depends on what kind of plan, you or your company buys. I know Viagra isn't covered where I work.

This is true, another example of bad info being thrown around.

My individual health insurance has no coverage for prescription drugs of any kind, and that's what I wanted. Plans were available with drugs for an extra cost. I opted out.

Maybe it would be better to have access, but let people buy what coverage they want? Na, the government knows best.

Joe wrote:

FredHayek wrote:

photo-fish wrote: "The Pill" is NOT used for contraception alone. What other use does Viagra have?

Prescriptions aren't always covered by your health insurance, depends on what kind of plan, you or your company buys. I know Viagra isn't covered where I work.

This is true, another example of bad info being thrown around.

My individual health insurance has no coverage for prescription drugs of any kind, and that's what I wanted. Plans were available with drugs for an extra cost. I opted out.

Maybe it would be better to have access, but let people buy what coverage they want? Na, the government knows best.

Bingo!
And by Obamacare requiring children to be covered up to 26, no lifetime limits on benefits, etc, they are raising the prices of health insurance for everyone.
I am sure many people would prefer to be covered by a less expensive plan versus having their employer choose to pay the Obamacare fine and offer no insurance at all.

Kate wrote: I'm not sure what world you live in, PrintSmith, but I'm glad I'm not there with you. Stating that the prevention of pregnancy is a dysfunction is ludicrous. Your steadfast refusal to look at the real world with any sense of logic and common sense is amusing, to say the least.

One can prevent pregnancy without any alteration of the function of the female reproductive system Kate. "The Pill" prevents pregnancy by creating dysfunction within the woman's reproductive system. Is it the definition of dysfunction with which you disagree? Do you not agree "The Pill" works by causing impairment to the normal function of a woman's reproductive system? I think it pretty well established that this is precisely what it does, don't you?

You can't misstate what it is that I am saying and then call it ludicrous. I am not saying that prevention of pregnancy is a dysfunction. I am saying that "The Pill" prevents pregnancy by creating dysfunction in a woman's reproductive system. I have not even opined that a woman should not have the right to decide that she wants to create that dysfunction within her reproductive system. What I have said is that it makes very little sense to me to force a health insurance company to pay for creating dysfunction in the human body solely for the purpose of creating that dysfunction in the human body. Health insurance shouldn't be used to create dysfunctions of the human body except to treat dysfunctions already in existence. Anti-rejection drugs for instance. They also create a dysfunction, but their primary purpose is to protect a transplanted organ from being rejected and presumably the organ was transplanted to restore lost function of the person's own organs.

No one needs to render themselves sterile to prevent pregnancy. If you want to make yourself sterile, all fine and good - it's your body to do with as you wish. The objection I have is compelling others to pay for your wishes which have nothing to do with an existing health problem. If you want the shape of your nose altered because you don't like its current shape is an entirely different scenario from the shape of your nose needing to be altered because your breathing is affected by its current shape. The desire to have breast implants because you want a larger set is an entirely different scenario than having breast implants to restore your appearance after a mastectomy. There is a reason for insurance to cover the procedure under one set of circumstances but not the other and "The Pill" is no exception to this.

FredHayek wrote: Bingo!
And by Obamacare requiring children to be covered up to 26, no lifetime limits on benefits, etc, they are raising the prices of health insurance for everyone.
I am sure many people would prefer to be covered by a less expensive plan versus having their employer choose to pay the Obamacare fine and offer no insurance at all.

Fred, the trouble is you really can't buy Insurance any more. The big companies are now all comprehensive health care manager middlemen, with high overhead costs processing all these tiny claims that people don't want to be bothered with. High Deductible plans/Health savings accounts are going to be useless and obsolete. Get in line and sign up for your one-size fits all, Obama HHS IRS approved plan. You will be assimilated.

photo-fish wrote: "The Pill" is NOT used for contraception alone. What other use does Viagra have?

Here's a few other uses for Viagra:

Pulmonary hypertension

Viagra is now marketed under the name Revatio for this uncommon but serious disorder of high pressure in the blood vessels leading to the lungs.

Mountain sickness

Viagra can reduce pulmonary artery pressure at high altitude and improve the ability to exercise in low oxygen conditions.

Raynaud’s phenomenon

In affected individuals, exposure to the cold triggers spasm of the small arteries that supply blood to the fingers, toes, or both, which become pale, cold, and painful. Both Viagra and Levitra have been helpful in clinical trials.

Heart disease

Studies suggest Viagra might help patients with congestive heart failure or diastolic dysfunction.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070727182359.htm

There are also clinical trials going on with Viagra for women (besides the above). But I couldn't find anything approved yet.

So far as how many health insurance policies cover Viagra vs. birth control, you get a lot of different info. I found a good paper on it before, but can't find it now. As I recall, less than half of medical insurance policies cover Viagra, and most individual policies do not. And even if it's covered it's not like you are going to get 60 pills a month. It might only cover 5-10 pills a month.

Birth control used to be covered in only about 1/3 rd of policies, but since the mid 2000's it's now covered by over 80% of policies. But again, that's going by memory.