Teachers Fight for Viagra

Teachers of the city of Milwaukee are fighting to get back Viagra Online and other Erectile Dysfunction (ED) medications to be covered under their medical benefits. Nowadays the city of Milwaukee is going through financial crisis and hundreds of teachers are facing layoffs.

The Milwaukee Teachers Union has requested a judge to order the city school board to once again include this Erectile Dysfunction drug called Viagra and also other similar drugs to treat impotence on their health insurance plans. The Teachers Union stated that these drugs are a necessary treatment for all men employees.

The lawyers of the city school board stated that these drugs were excluded in the year 2005 for money saving purposes and that there is no discrimination for male employees. The teachers of Milwaukee had also protested for the hundreds of layoffs for the upcoming school years. A school board consultant stated that an approximate estimation for reinstating this oral treatment benefit will cost $787,000 yearly. According to the school board the total cost is the approximate cost to keep a dozen of first year teachers employed.

The Teachers Union stated that the cost are small compared to its billion annual budget. One health insurance company of the city by the name of Health Insurance Aetna Inc. offers two insurance plans for the citizens. Their standard best pharmacy plans exclude these Male Impotence drugs. The basic state employee health plans are also not covering those medications.

The first deal between the city school board and the Teachers Union was back in 2002 where they had reached a deal to cover 6 pills per month for health plans that insure 11,000 dependents, retirees and employees. By the year 2004, the number of men receiving these drugs increase to more than $1,000 yearly, which costs the district $208,000. During the negotiations back in 2005, the school board had proposed to eliminate this benefit, but an arbitrator adopted this plan. This plan is still on process of being approved or not.