An expense analysis revealed that the U.S government has spent a total of $172 million on penis pumps.
As the lawmakers work to finalize a $1 trillion spending bill, they discovered the tremendous amount the Medicare has been wasting just for the penis pumps of seniors. Soon after the bill is passed, seniors should expect that they will no longer receive that much privilege as they had in previous years.
According to a report by the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Medicare has paid roughly $172.4 million for 474,000 Vacuum Erection Systems (VES) for seniors from 2006 to 2011.
"Medicare payment amounts for VES remain grossly excessive compared with the amounts that non-Medicare payers pay," said the report, dated December 2013. "Medicare currently pays suppliers more than twice as much for VES as the Department of Veterans Affairs and consumers over the Internet pay for these types of devices."
The figures in the report showed that claims for the devices per year almost doubled from $20.6 million in 2006 to 38.6 million in 2011.
The lawmakers projected that if the U.S. government health insurance system for seniors limited its payments to just about the cost paid by non-Medicare consumers, the federal administration would have saved approximately $14.4 million yearly from 2006 to 2011. More so, the government could have allotted it to more important and life-saving projects.
In an e-mail to Reuters, Heartland Institute's Ben Domenech stated, "Considering the strain retiring baby boomers will soon be placing on Medicare's budget, shouldn't we be focusing this entitlement program on real, life-saving treatment and equipment to serve the health needs of seniors - instead of subsidizing penis pump purchases?"
Furthermore, if those elderly really want to have a penis pump, they should buy it for themselves. They don't need to let their fellow citizens to shoulder the costs, he added.
A VES or Penis pump is one of a few treatment options for erectile dysfunction, the inability of the penis to get erected or maintain an erection sufficient for sex.
The pump consists of a plastic tube that fits well over the penis, a band that fits well around the base of the penis once it is erect, and a hand or battery-powered pump connected to the tube.
