Washington, D.C.—Iowa Congressman Steve King today introduced legislation to stop the federal government from subsidizing recreational sex drugs through Medicare. The Medicare Prescription Drug Sensibility Act ensures resources will be protected for Medicare recipients with true live-saving prescription needs.

Erectile dysfunction drugs, such as Viagra, Cialis and Levitra, have a yearly $1.3 billion market, and average $8 to $10 per pill.  Beginning January 1, 2006, performance-enhancing drugs will be covered by Medicare, when the prescription drug benefit in the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 takes effect.

As the Medicare-recipient population is projected to hit 61 million by 2020, it is expected there will be a considerable demand for drugs to treat cancer, heart disease and other serious medical conditions.

“The thought of Medicare wasting vital resources on performance enhancing drugs is unconscionable, especially at a time when the focus should be on providing life-saving medication for truly needy seniors,” said King. “Seniors should never be denied life-saving drugs at the cost of providing non-essential drugs for others.”

For example, the money spent by the federal government to purchase one year of erectile dysfunction drugs for one individual could also pay for the necessary cholesterol-lowering medication for another person for a full year, heart attack treatment and high blood-pressure medication for one person that year, or diabetes medication for three people that year.

In December, King led a group of Congressional Members in a letter urging the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to exclude erectile dysfunction drugs from the list of drugs covered by Medicare.

“When Congress created the Medicare system, to help our older Americans pay for necessary medication, I doubt they ever thought it would end up subsidizing recreational drugs. American taxpayers don’t need to pay for recreational sex while millions of seniors on Medicare need to use those resources for life-saving medications,” added King.

There are eleven co-sponsors of the Medicare Prescription Drug Sensibility Act, including Republican Study Committee Chair, Rep. Mike Pence, Rep. Jim Moran, Rep. Gil Gutknecht, and Rep. Dennis Kucinich.