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ehrnst

(32,640 posts)
Wed Jul 26, 2017, 12:46 PM Jul 2017

Cost of erectile medication for active military: $84 million

Cost for trans health for active military : $2.4 to $8.4 million.

While Trump didn't offer any numbers to support this claim, a Defense Department-commissioned study published last year by the Rand Corp. provides exhaustive estimates of transgender servicemembers' potential medical costs.

Considering the prevalence of transgender servicemembers among the active duty military and the typical health care costs for gender transition-related medical treatment, the Rand study estimated that these treatments would cost the military between $2.4 million and $8.4 million annually.


The study didn't include estimates of these costs for reservists, due to "their highly limited military health care eligibility." It also didn't include estimates for retirees or military family members, because many of those individuals may also have "limited eligibility" for care via military treatment facilities.

"The implication is that even in the most extreme scenario that we were able to identify . . . we expect only a 0.13-percent ($8.4 million out of $6.2 billion) increase in health care spending," Rand's authors concluded.

By contrast, total military spending on erectile dysfunction medicines amounts to $84 million annually, according to an analysis by the Military Times - 10 times the cost of annual transition-related medical care for active duty transgender servicemembers.

The military spends $41.6 million annually on Viagra alone, according to the Military Times analysis - roughly five times the estimated spending on transition-related medical care for transgender troops.


http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/The-military-spends-five-times-as-much-on-Viagra-11437361.php
34 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Cost of erectile medication for active military: $84 million (Original Post) ehrnst Jul 2017 OP
It is hard to argue with this. guillaumeb Jul 2017 #1
... politicat Jul 2017 #3
LOL SharonClark Jul 2017 #5
It's all tumescent for me. gilbert sullivan Jul 2017 #13
No one in the US military stands to attention anymore .... ;) OnDoutside Jul 2017 #2
i never knew barbtries Jul 2017 #4
If they're taking it twice a week for 50 wks/year Igel Jul 2017 #6
84 million dollars barbtries Jul 2017 #8
you're right... thesquanderer Jul 2017 #9
like your screen name lol barbtries Jul 2017 #10
question...... mrmpa Jul 2017 #12
The pharmaceutical companies sometimes pay the generic manufacturers TexasBushwhacker Jul 2017 #14
Yes, 2017 availability of generic sildenafil (Viagra). thesquanderer Jul 2017 #18
The VA dispenses it now. Ligyron Jul 2017 #24
He is a Veteran.......... mrmpa Jul 2017 #26
There's a sliding co-pay of like 5 - 15 dollars per med depending on income. Ligyron Jul 2017 #30
men get their boner pills, but contraceptives for females is a controversy Skittles Jul 2017 #25
Yeah. volstork Jul 2017 #7
Probably for the old geezer generals. tavernier Jul 2017 #11
Senior noncoms and ranking officers, ie middle age men. sarge43 Jul 2017 #16
I like this subject...It takes me away from Trump.. Stuart G Jul 2017 #15
GOP hypocrisy at its finest. BigmanPigman Jul 2017 #17
Wait, why is the military spending ANY money on Viagra? LisaM Jul 2017 #19
Why wouldn't they? linuxman Jul 2017 #21
My Question Is Leith Jul 2017 #23
Because sex is an important part of most relationships NickB79 Jul 2017 #27
I also wonder why so many healthy young men have ED. Steroids? thesquanderer Jul 2017 #34
A *** GENERIC *** DRUG NOW EXISTS . . . much much much cheeper!! NotMyFuhrer Jul 2017 #20
A cost that will live in inflamy. nt Xipe Totec Jul 2017 #22
STOP providing Penis hardening medicine for military men !!! STOP IT NOW. trueblue2007 Jul 2017 #28
But November 8 of last year told us that numbers don't matter now, remember? ck4829 Jul 2017 #29
They have to keep up their rape stats samir.g Jul 2017 #31
It seems to me that sporting a stiffy in a combat situation might be a liability. Buns_of_Fire Jul 2017 #32
Cost for trans health for active military : $2.4 to $8.4 million. So what do Trump's golf trips cost Tom Rinaldo Jul 2017 #33

guillaumeb

(42,641 posts)
1. It is hard to argue with this.
Wed Jul 26, 2017, 12:48 PM
Jul 2017

I also expect very stiff resistance to be erected at any attempts to defund Viagra for the troops.

Igel

(35,191 posts)
6. If they're taking it twice a week for 50 wks/year
Wed Jul 26, 2017, 01:16 PM
Jul 2017

it comes out to about 11,000 men. That's about 1.3% of the men in the military on active duty.

Some will be suffering from PTSD or other psychological ailments. Some from physical problems.

Viagra's a tough thing to discuss. Some is just recreational. Improve endurance when there's nothing actually wrong that the guy's not directly responsible for: With age, esp. over 45 or so, a man's refactory period declines significantly, and alcohol can make erections more difficult to achieve and hold (was going to say "make erections harder," but that's the opposite of what was intended).

At the same time, for many, it's bona fide treatment for a psychological or physical ailment. Contrasting things with that does one of two things. It either implicitly asserts that what's being compared is also a disease in need of treatment, or that Viagra is just fun and any physical or psychological problem causing ED is really just fake. Americans can't figure out if sex is a natural biological function with real psychological implications or if it's just for kicks, so we're inconsistent in how we argue what we argue. It allows the expression of ill-will while we deny it, and also facilitates the imputation of ill-will when there is none. In other words, it's toxic for civil discourse.

barbtries

(28,702 posts)
8. 84 million dollars
Wed Jul 26, 2017, 01:22 PM
Jul 2017

seems like an awful lot of money. also i didn't know that you had to take it indefinitely twice a week, i thought you took it when you were going to be sexually active.

lots i don't know.

did the math. over $7k a year per user. will it be a generic soon, i know it's been around quite awhile?

thesquanderer

(11,954 posts)
9. you're right...
Wed Jul 26, 2017, 02:34 PM
Jul 2017

You take it only in advance of sexual activity. The other poster seems to be just assuming that these people are having sexual activity twice a week.

And yes, there's a generic. Knowing the pharm industry and the government, I would not be surprised if they did not permit generics on military bases!

mrmpa

(4,033 posts)
12. question......
Wed Jul 26, 2017, 02:49 PM
Jul 2017

what is the generic? I had read that a generic would be available in November of this year. Didn't know it was available now. Asking for my significant other, he's retired and the cost of Viagra is hard to take.

TexasBushwhacker

(20,043 posts)
14. The pharmaceutical companies sometimes pay the generic manufacturers
Wed Jul 26, 2017, 02:56 PM
Jul 2017

to keep the generic off the market for a while longer.

thesquanderer

(11,954 posts)
18. Yes, 2017 availability of generic sildenafil (Viagra).
Wed Jul 26, 2017, 03:29 PM
Jul 2017

I just googled and I don't think it's officially shipping in the U.S. just yet, though there are sites offering it... maybe imported from other countries where the start date was sooner? I thought it was already "official" from an ad I heard on the radio, but I think we're still on the cusp...

Ligyron

(7,592 posts)
24. The VA dispenses it now.
Wed Jul 26, 2017, 04:22 PM
Jul 2017

You're given 4 (four) a month if you ask (whether ya need it or not, nobody checks). Some smart guys say they need the 100mg so they can split it and have 2 a week.

Ligyron

(7,592 posts)
30. There's a sliding co-pay of like 5 - 15 dollars per med depending on income.
Wed Jul 26, 2017, 06:20 PM
Jul 2017

I get full coverage so all my meds and care are free. I feel so bad when I read here of what others have to go through for health care, (or not) and how much worse it could get.

But I think we'll beat this thing yet and get single payer at some point. Everyone should have what I have damit.

tavernier

(12,322 posts)
11. Probably for the old geezer generals.
Wed Jul 26, 2017, 02:47 PM
Jul 2017

Weren't there several episodes of MASH that joked about randy old officers?

sarge43

(28,939 posts)
16. Senior noncoms and ranking officers, ie middle age men.
Wed Jul 26, 2017, 03:03 PM
Jul 2017

Generally speaking (pardon the pun)

The article is important because it gives lie to Trump's "Tremendous costs". Medical treatment for transgenders accounts for a tiny fraction of DOD's budget.

Stuart G

(38,359 posts)
15. I like this subject...It takes me away from Trump..
Wed Jul 26, 2017, 03:00 PM
Jul 2017

and puts my mind in another place..
oops...not gud.....

BigmanPigman

(51,430 posts)
17. GOP hypocrisy at its finest.
Wed Jul 26, 2017, 03:17 PM
Jul 2017

They get theirs and fuck everyone else.

I love it that they won't allow women to get birth control but they will always get their "fix". Where do they think babies come from and who pays for these unwanted babies? Oh, the irony. Always an excuse for their selfish behavior.

 

linuxman

(2,337 posts)
21. Why wouldn't they?
Wed Jul 26, 2017, 03:40 PM
Jul 2017

Some current troops need it, and so do many vererans/retirees.

Pretty simple, really.

Leith

(7,802 posts)
23. My Question Is
Wed Jul 26, 2017, 03:49 PM
Jul 2017

Why the HELL is the military spending money on Viagra?!

Talk about a waste of taxpayer money! This is definitely one case of forced taxation so some guy somewhere can get a stiffy.

Not when I have to pay for it.



NickB79

(19,111 posts)
27. Because sex is an important part of most relationships
Wed Jul 26, 2017, 05:13 PM
Jul 2017

And a lack of physical intimacy is a significant factor in many failed marriages. Combat stress, both physical and psychological, can exacerbate this.

 

NotMyFuhrer

(58 posts)
20. A *** GENERIC *** DRUG NOW EXISTS . . . much much much cheeper!!
Wed Jul 26, 2017, 03:38 PM
Jul 2017

There is a GENERIC equivalent to the formula in Viagra, Cialis . . . etc.

It costs 1 / 100 th of the name brands!!

IT IS CALLED . . . Sildenafil Citrate (20mg dosage) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ASK YOUR Doctor!

The government could save millions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




Buns_of_Fire

(17,119 posts)
32. It seems to me that sporting a stiffy in a combat situation might be a liability.
Wed Jul 26, 2017, 06:56 PM
Jul 2017

"This is my rifle, this is my gun..."

Tom Rinaldo

(22,911 posts)
33. Cost for trans health for active military : $2.4 to $8.4 million. So what do Trump's golf trips cost
Wed Jul 26, 2017, 07:35 PM
Jul 2017

All that massive tax payer paid for R&R that Trump desperately needs to even minimally function.

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