PA Auditor General Jack Wagner Recommends Immediate Discontinuation of Medicaid Viagra to 7,100 Sex Offenders

Main Category: Erectile Dysfunction / Premature Ejaculation
Article Date: 30 May 2005 - 0:00 PST

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Auditor General Jack Wagner sent a letter Thursday to Estelle Richman, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, recommending that she immediately discontinue providing Viagra or other sexual-enhancement drugs to the state's 7,100 registered sex offenders through the Commonwealth's Medicaid assistance program.

Following is the full text of his letter:

May 26, 2005

The Honorable Estelle Richman, Secretary
Department of Public Welfare
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
333 Health and Welfare Building
Harrisburg, PA 17105

Dear Secretary Richman:

The potential for Pennsylvania sex offenders to obtain Viagra through the state's Medicaid program for indigent citizens threatens the safety of our communities and is a gross abuse of taxpayer funds.

Previous performance audits conducted by the Department of the Auditor General indicate that at least 7,100 registered sex offenders, including sexually violent predators, reside in the Commonwealth.

Under a statute in the federal Medicaid program, states are obligated to prevent fraud, abuse, gross overuse or inappropriate or medically unnecessary care among physicians, pharmacists and patients. A state can find that the use of certain drugs and the treatment of impotence for such individuals could constitute fraud, abuse, or inappropriate use.

According to a letter I have obtained from Dennis G. Smith, Director of the Dept. of Health and Human Services' Center for Medicaid and Medicaid Services, "the use of [sexual enhancement] drugs in the case of a sex offender is inappropriate and Medicaid should not pay the cost of such drugs in such circumstances."

Mr. Smith added, "[S]tates should use their drug-use review program and procedures under 1927 (g) of the Social Security Act and work with physicians and pharmacists to prevent inappropriate Medicaid payment for such drugs in the case of a sex offender."

I encourage you to use this guidance from the Department of Health and Human Services to immediately revise Pennsylvania's Medicaid prescription guidelines and deny sexual-enhancement medications to the state's 7,100 registered sex offenders.

For your convenience I am providing you with a copy of Mr. Smith's letter for your review. Thank you for your prompt consideration and please let me know if I can be of assistance.

Sincerely,

Jack Wagner
Auditor General

Auditor General Jack Wagner is responsible for ensuring that all state money is spent legally and properly. He is the Commonwealth's elected independent fiscal watchdog, conducting both financial and performance audits. The Department of the Auditor General produces more than 5,500 audits per year. To learn more about the Department of the Auditor General, taxpayers are encouraged to visit the Auditor General's website at http://www.auditorgen.state.pa.us.

Pennsylvania Department of the Auditor General
http://www.auditorgen.state.pa.us

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