File this one in the Amazing But True Story department: it turns out that sex offenders have been getting Viagra — paid for by the state — in New York State over the past five years.
Late night comedians will have a field day with this story (is this to keep them at the top of their form?) but it’s a very serious subject. The AP:
Scores of convicted rapists and other high-risk sex offenders in New York have been getting Viagra paid by Medicaid for the last five years, the state’s comptroller said Sunday.
Audits by Comptroller Alan Hevesi’s office showed that between January 2000 and March 2005, 198 sex offenders in New York received Medicaid-reimbursed Viagra after their convictions. Those included crimes against children as young as 2 years old, he said.
Just think of it: over the years there has been controversy when some have advocated castration of sex offenders. In New York state, it turns out, the government has been paying big bucks to enhance the sexual performance of offenders who even assaulted toddlers. MORE:
Hevesi asked Michael Leavitt, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in a letter Sunday to “take immediate action to ensure that sex offenders do not receive erectile dysfunction medication paid for by taxpayers.”
A call to Leavitt’s office was not immediately returned Sunday.
According to Hevesi, the problem is an unintended consequence of a 1998 directive from federal officials telling states that Medicaid prescription programs must include Viagra. His office discovered that the state was helping sex offenders pay for Viagra by checking Medicaid pharmacy expenditures against the state’s sex offender registry.
New York’s two senators said Sunday the problem should be corrected.
May we quote the great thinker Aristotle on that statement? “Duh.” More:
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said in a statement that it was “deeply disturbing and runs contrary to the purpose of Medicaid, which is to provide health care coverage for uninsured, low-income individuals.” Clinton, a Democrat, urged Leavitt to look into the matter, and said she would explore legislative options.
New York’s other senator, Democrat Chuck Schumer, said at a press conference in New York City that he hoped the issue could be resolved without a bill, but he’s prepared to offer one if needed.
“While I believe that HHS did not do this intentionally, when the government pays for Viagra for sex offenders, it could well hurt many innocent people,” he said.
New York auditors are reviewing whether other prescription drugs for sexual dysfunction are being reimbursed by Medicaid for convicted sex offenders, Hevesi spokesman David Neustadt said.
There several things scandalous about this: (1) The fact that Viagra was given to sex offenders, (2) The fact that someone in the bureaucracy didn’t do his/her/its job and see what drugs were being underwritten by the government, (3)The fact that while Viagra has been highly pleasing to Senator Bob Dole (and we assume Mrs. Dole)and sold via an excellent advertising campaign, it’s seemingly being given out faster than income tax audits by New York state.
Someone has done their job quite poorly in New York. Just halting the handing out of Viagra out like adult-trick-or-treat candy to sex offenders won’t solve the problem: state officials need to know why it was given out, by whom and put safeguards into place.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.