NY State Medicaid Paid For Viagra For Registered Sex Offenders

A new report has found that the New York State Medicaid program paid for Viagra and other sexual and erectile dysfunction drugs for registered sex offenders.

New York Upstate reports that the New York State Comptroller, Thomas P. DiNapoli, found in an audit that the state Medicaid program had paid for the drugs and treatments for erectile dysfunction drugs for sex offenders. Within New York, over $60,000 was spent on sexual and erectile dysfunction drugs for 47 sex offenders. Overall, over $930,000 was spent by Medicaid. These drugs and treatments are barred by state and federal law.

According to New York Upstate, the comptroller's office found that in 2005 Medicaid paid for Viagra for 198 registered level-3 sex offenders. In 2011, pharmacy benefits for many Medicaid enrollees were transferred from being managed by the state Health Department to care organizations. DiNapoli found in his audit that Medicaid managed care organizations are not always policing drugs that enrollees can get. The health department also did not monitor the use of erectile dysfunction drugs.

In a rebuttal to the audit, the health department said that erectile dysfunction drugs can be used to treat high blood pressure in the lungs and enlarged prostate. New York Upstate reports that the improper payments found in the audit found that the drugs approved by the FDA were for erectile dysfunction, and not the other causes the health department claimed they were used for.

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