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To: Anthony Wong who wrote (354)	6/19/1998 11:47:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1722

More Surveyed Favor Coverage for Birth Control Than for Viagra Bloomberg News June 19, 1998, 9:30 a.m. ET More Surveyed Favor Coverage for Birth Control Than for Viagra New York, June 19 (Bloomberg) -- More people in a recent U.S. survey favored health-insurance companies covering contraceptives than paying for Pfizer Inc.'s anti-impotence drug Viagra, the Kaiser Family Foundation said. Insurance coverage of contraceptives was supported by about three-fourths of the 1,015 people surveyed, the group said. Insurance coverage of Viagra was favored by about 49 percent of those surveyed. Viagra, a blue, diamond-shaped pill, became one of the best- selling drugs within weeks of its April introduction, with sales expected to top $1 billion in its first 12 months on the market. Health insurance coverage of both Viagra and contraceptives varies. Since Viagra's introduction in April, some managed-care plans have covered limited prescriptions. Managed health-care companies including Prudential Life Insurance Co. of America and Oxford Health Plans Inc. have been named in lawsuits over restrictions of coverage for Viagra. Some companies, such as Aetna Inc., have said they're still considering what their Viagra coverage policy will be. The foundation will present the results of the survey at a press conference today in New York, along with the presentation of a study by the Alan Guttmacher Institute about the potential costs of full insurance coverage of contraceptive devices and drugs. The study calculates that, on average, employers would pay $17.12 more a year and employees $4.28 more if their health- insurance plan were to start covering all contraceptive supplies for the first time. Contraception considered in the survey included birth- control pills, implantable contraceptives, diaphragms and other reversible methods that have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and require prescriptions. The added cost for employers would increase their medical costs by less than 1 percent on average, the study said. The Alan Guttmacher Institute and the Kaiser Family Foundation are nonprofit research groups. --Marion Gammill in the Princeton newsroom (609) 279-4097/jcn/dd

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (354)	6/19/1998 11:58:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 1722

Rochester Blue Cross Blue Shield To Cover 6 Viagra Pills/Mo. June 19, 1998 9:50 AM ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP)--Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rochester has agreed to cover Pfizer Inc.'s (PFE) prescription drug Viagra as part of its health plan, but says it will pay for only six pills a month to stifle the drug's "potential for abuse." Viagra, a drug for clinically impotent men, costs from $8 to $10 per pill. Its lack of side effects have catapulted its demand since it hit the market in April. Richard Dent, chief medical officer of Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Rochester, said Viagra has proven itself a medically valuable treatment of erectile dysfunction. "However, we also recognized the drug's potential for abuse and the financial impact that misuse of this drug would have on our community's health care costs," Dent said. The policy allows coverage of up to six pills a month for men diagnosed with erectile dysfunction for at least six months. However, patients who have undergone urologic or pelvic surgery are exempted from the rule and their pills will be covered immediately following surgery, the company said. Prior authorization from a qualified health care provider is also required to ensure the Viagra pills are medically necessary, Dent said. Blue Cross and Blue Shield officials say six pills a month is "reasonable" for impotent patients and noted that additional pills may be prescribed, but the patient will have to pick up the cost. The HMO developed its policy on the recommendations of several committees comprised of physicians and pharmacists from the community.