National Health Service Not Funding Brand Name ED Drugs

Most insurance companies won’t pay for erectile dysfunction medications for American men, and now men in England will face the same problem.

The National Health Service (NHS), which provides the majority of healthcare in England, won’t cover brand name erectile dysfunction (ED) drugs like Viagra, Cialis or Levitra.

Special circumstances

There are, however, certain circumstances under which the NHS will pay for Viagra, Cialis, Levitra and Spedra. These include men who have or have had:

• multiple sclerosis
• polio
• Parkinson’s
• diabetes
• spina bifida
• prostate cancer or removal of the prostate
• a spinal cord injury
• dialysis for a kidney transplant for kidney failure
• major pelvic surgery
• certain genetic conditions, such as Huntington’s

In some cases, men who are in severe distress due to their ED will be able to get Viagra, Cialis or Levitra on the NHS.

Men who don’t meet the above criteria can still get ED drugs like Viagra, Cialis or Levitra, but they’ll be required to pay the full cost themselves. According to the NHS website, four tablets costs around 20 pounds. 

Why the changes?

A March 2017 article on CornwallLive.com reported that in an effort to save money for core drugs and services, the NHS announced it was planning to stop funding for not only  Cialis but also hemorrhoid cream, gluten-free food, medicines for travel sickness and upset stomach, among others.

In the article, NHS England is quoted as saying: “In light of the financial challenges faced by the NHS, further work will consider other medicines which are of relatively low clinical value or priority or are readily available over the counter and in some instances, at far lower cost, such as treatment for coughs and colds, antihistamines, indigestion and heartburn medication and suncream.”

The NHS reports that part of their goal in cutting funding for these items is to “make enough headroom to spend money on innovative new drugs.”