Editorial: A man’s world for prescriptions

Thursday, May 14, 1998 | 10:58 a.m.

LOST in the controversy over whether insurance companies should pay for Viagra, the new drug that is supposed to cure impotency in men, is the fact that insurance companies still are not required to pay for contraceptive prescriptions.

On Tuesday, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the National Family Planning Association and other groups used the hype over Viagra to renew their call for legislation that would mandate insurance companies that cover the costs of prescription drugs to also cover the costs of prescription contraceptives. The legislation, which the insurance companies oppose, is co-authored by Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.

Calling it a "man's world," Reid believes it is time for the insurance companies to recognize women's issues. "Viagra comes up, oh boy, (men) get everything they want," he said. Reid doesn't oppose insurance companies paying for Viagra, but he believes contraceptives for women deserve equal treatment.

USA Today reported that many employer-sponsored health plans that are not paying for women's birth control are paying for Viagra. Lack of insurance coverage for women's contraceptives is a real problem and can contribute to unintended pregnancies, which often end in abortion. A study by the Alan Guttmacher Institute found that 49 percent of all large-group health care plans do not cover contraceptives. In addition, only 15 percent cover all five of the most commonly used methods of contraception.

Reid has noted previously that this lack of coverage often means that women end up with higher health care costs than men. The lack of women in state legislatures and in Congress has had an impact in that more health care and biomedical research favors men over women, according to Reid.

Although the legislation authored by Reid and Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, has not yet received a Senate vote, hopefully the debate over Viagra will prompt a larger discussion of necessary insurance funding for other prescription drugs, including contraceptives. It's time for Congress to put women on an equal footing with men on issues involving public health and pass the Reid-Snow legislation requiring insurance companies to pay for contraceptive prescriptions.