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Almost 500 teachers in the Milwaukee district have been laid off due to tough economic times, and many who are left are fighting - not for their former colleagues to be reinstated but for inclusion of Viagra in the district's medical plan.

You can't make this kind of stuff up.

On the one hand, male members have a point, sort of. They argue that many "female only" things are covered, such as birth control pills, estrogen replacement, and vaginal creams. Interestingly enough, penile implants ARE covered under the plan; Viagra is not.

Many who follow my blog may find this difficult to believe, but I actually agree with the men here, and no, not for personal reasons.

Viagra is a prescribed drug that is prescribed in response to a diagnosed medical condition (ED as it is commonly known). It is not just a "sexual problem" thing. Usually, the condition itself is reflective of other issues such as hypertension, etc. So medically speaking, the drug usually helps, but even if it's purely from a mental standpoint, it still should be covered because many other drugs are covered for mental-nervous conditions.

Like it or not, the men's position here is at least consistent. And that's one thing I consistently argue for - consistency.

Either do it all or not at all.

The real problem with our healthcare system, however, is that we have developed a mentality that our health plans should "do it all" for us.

If those teachers had to pay the full cost of their own premiums, they would have a dramatically different outlook.

And THAT my friends is the real problem with our system that the teachers highlight here by arguing for Viagra inclusion: LACK OF PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY.

High deductible plans go a long way toward restoring the personal responsibility that is lacking in our healthcare system today.

Make no mistake: High deductible plans ARE the wave of the future. We are just beginning the process of reverting to the 1980's before copay plans were invented. The cost of premiums for copay plans has gotten too much out of control and the copays themselves are greatly at fault. Copays are the antithesis of personal responsibility. Copays encourage someone else to pay or heavily subsidize the cost of one's own medical care.

CD Richard
"the health insurance guru"
Licensed Agent/Broker since 1980

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