The Pentagon spent $84.2 million on erectile dysfunction drugs in 2014

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The Pentagon spent $84.2 million on erectile dysfunction drugs in 2014

Viagra
Viagra and Cialis are among the top-selling erectile dysfunction medications.
Image: Nick Ut/Associated Press

The Pentagon spent $84.2 million on Viagra and other erectile dysfunction drugs in 2014, according to a recent report from the Military Times.

Erectile dysfunction medications like Viagra and Cialis are covered by TRICARE, the government-backed health insurance program for active duty personnel, military retirees, and eligible family members.

While $84.2 million may seem like a high number, it’s dwarfed in comparison to the Department of Defense’s $50 billion health budget. The total U.S. Defense budget requested for 2016 is $536 billion.

Kevin Dwyer, a spokesman for the Pentagon’s Defense Health Agency told Mashable that TRICARE serves 9.5 million beneficiaries and manages a pharmaceutical budget of $8 billion, meaning that only .01% of the spending is allocated to erectile dysfunction medications.

A 2014 report from Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center found that the number of active-duty combatants suffering from erectile dysfunction doubled from 2004 to 2013. Nearly half the cases were attributed to psychological disorders such as PTSD and depression.

Roughly 1.18 million prescriptions for erectile dysfunction drugs were filed for military beneficiaries in 2014, according to Military Times.

Viagra and similar drugs are most commonly prescribed for erectile dysfunction, but they can also treat other issues, such as pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Defense Health Agency’s pharmaceutical plan is managed by Express Scripts, which distributes medications not only within military hospitals and clinics, but also by mail and at retail stores. Express Scripts is a Fortune 100 pharmacy company with revenues of $104 billion, and according to a representative, the military is their second largest client.

The company designs benefit plans for the military and provides pharmaceutical products not only in military hospitals and clinics, but also by mail and at retail stores.

A spokesman from Express Scripts declined to comment on the plethora of prescriptions for Viagra and similar medications for Defense Health Agency clients.

Meanwhile, the Defense Health Agency has been trying to cut costs within its wide-reaching program. Since its inception in October 2013, the agency has streamlined costs by “instituting a number of reforms involving common clinical and business processes across the Department,” Dwyer told Mashable, which saved $236 million in 2014.

One such initiative is increasing the use of mail-order prescriptions, which are 17% cheaper for the organization.

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