Taxpayers spent a “staggering” $172million in six years on “penis pumps” valued at twice the price they would have cost in a store.
The U.S. government’s “Medicare” program blew the cash between 2006 and 2011, according to a government watchdog report.
The Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services said the health insurance system for American citizens paid for nearly 474,000 claims for “vacuum erection systems” (VES), commonly known as “penis pumps,” totaling about $172.4 million from 2006 to 2011.
Yearly claims for the “devices” nearly doubled from $20.6 million in 2006 to $38.6 million in 2011.
Government “waste” is a major issue in budget talks in the U.S. capital as lawmakers try to reach agreement on a $1 trillion spending bill.
“Medicare payment amounts for VES remain grossly excessive compared with the amounts that non-Medicare payers pay,” said the report.
“Medicare currently pays suppliers more than twice as much for VES as the Department of Veterans Affairs and consumers over the Internet pay for these types of devices.”
Health care policy experts said the revelations in the IG report are a “troubling” indication of what they describe as “wasteful” spending in federal health programs.
If Medicare had adjusted its payments to approximately the price non-Medicare payers pay, the U.S. government would have “saved” an average of about $14.4 million for each of the six years, the report said.
“The fact that taxpayers have spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars over the past decade on penis pumps via Medicare is obscene and insulting – even more so when you consider that this is an arena of Medicare expenditures rife with fraud and where the government doesn’t even bother to assess medical necessity,” said Ben Domenech, a senior fellow at the Heartland Institute.
“This is a perfect example of what happens when government becomes the be all and end all of human existence – a system where everyone has a right to a taxpayer-funded penis pump.”
“Considering the strain retiring baby boomers will soon be placing on Medicare’s budget, shouldn’t we be focusing this “entitlement program” on real, life-saving treatment and equipment to serve the health needs of Americans – instead of subsidizing penis pump purchases?” Ben Domenech of the Heartland Institute think tank said in an email statement.
“And to those citizens who really do want one,” added Domenech, “just buy it yourself – you don’t need to send the bill to your fellow Americans.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, “penis pumps” are one of a few treatment options for “erectile dysfunction.”
I can see it now when the “ObamaCare” death panels take over:
“We’re sorry Mr. Jones but we just can’t justify spending the people’s money to insert a stent in your heart. Please accept this penis pump as a parting gift.”
According to the frequent “Cialis and Viagra” advertisements splashing across American television screens it appears that 90 % of Americans have “erectile dysfunction” symptoms.
The other 10% need “penis pumps” to get an “erection.”
Until now, they’ve been getting their heads swollen in the “shape of a penis” by the progressive media, academia, entertainment and Obama’s speeches.
In the progressive world of “Next Tuesday” everyone will use “penis pumps”, mandated by the liberated elites with their large, “penis shaped” heads in Washington, DC.
Bill Clinton says, “I firmly endorse the penis pump!”
