Under a proposed policy change, a healthcare plan for the military would cover only the generic equivalents of Viagra and Cialis, the two best-selling erectile dysfunction drugs on the market. The move represents a vote of confidence in the safety and effectiveness of generic medications.<\/p>\n
Tricare, a government-managed health insurer that covers members of the U.S. armed forces, reservists, dependents, and some retirees, in early 2019 announced a proposed change in its policy on erectile dysfunction drugs.<\/p>\n
Under the new policy proposal, announced by the Beneficiary Advisory Panel of the Defense Health Agency, Tricare would cover only the generic versions of Viagra and Cialis. The decision to switch coverage from brand-name to generic ED drugs seemed to ruffle few feathers. However, it was yet another related policy change that stirred up the most controversy.<\/p>\n
This related policy change requires that doctors first prescribe sildenafil, or generic Viagra, to new ED drug users before they can try tadalafil, the generic form of Cialis.<\/p>\n
Both sildenafil and tadalafil are classified as on-demand ED medications, meaning they\u2019re to be taken a short time before the anticipated start of sexual activity. However, the two drugs differ dramatically in their duration of action. While the effects of sildenafil typically last up to four hours, the effects of tadalafil can last for up to 36 hours. And tadalafil, unlike sildenafil, can also be prescribed to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia, a noncancerous enlargement of the prostate gland.<\/p>\n
Charles Hostettler, a dissenting member of the advisory panel, pointed out that physicians have told the panel they need the ability to prescribe both of these drugs based on the individual needs of patients. He said he found it \u201ca little bit strange\u201d that the panel would force doctors to prescribe the short-acting drug first in all cases. Hostettler represents the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States (AMSUS).<\/p>\n
The proposed switch from brand-name to generic ED drugs was prompted by a 2019 decision by the Department of Defense\u2019s Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committee that generic and brand-name ED drugs were equally effective.<\/p>\n
According to a report at Military.com<\/a>, the advisory panel\u2019s proposed policy change will now be sent to the deputy director of the Defense Health Agency who will review and possibly approve it on behalf of DHA\u2019s director.<\/p>\n Should the proposed policy changes take effect, other ED drugs, including Levitra, Staxyn, Stendra, and their generic counterparts, would be moved to Tier 4 status, meaning they would no longer be covered by Tricare.<\/p>\n Under the policy change, men who are 40 or over would no longer require prior authorization from their doctors for Tricare to cover ED medications. Men who are under the age of 40 or who need treatment for enlarged prostate would still need to obtain prior authorization.<\/p>\n The decision of the advisory panel to go generic, at least in the category of ED drugs, is a vote of confidence in the efficacy and safety of generic medications.<\/p>\n Those who have erection problems but are not members of the military or otherwise covered by Tricare will need to check out the terms of their prescription drug coverage to determine if such drugs are covered.<\/p>\n Many men have found they can save both time and money by ordering their ED drugs from eDrugstore.com, a longtime online prescription drug service. Its prices include not just the drugs themselves but a number of added-value services as well.<\/p>\n These include free shipping and eDrugstore\u2019s complimentary online consultation service. If you don\u2019t yet have a doctor\u2019s prescription, eDrugstore will match you up online with a physician licensed to practice in your state. If the doctor determines that you\u2019re an appropriate candidate for an ED drug, a prescription will be authorized. To learn more, visit eDrugstore\u2019s Erectile Dysfunction page<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Under a proposed policy change, a healthcare plan for the military would cover only the generic equivalents of Viagra and Cialis, the two best-selling erectile dysfunction drugs on the market. The move represents a vote of confidence in the safety and effectiveness of generic medications. Tricare, a government-managed health insurer that covers members of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28425,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_autoblog_aioseo_focus_keyphrase":"","_autoblog_aioseo_title":"","_autoblog_aioseo_description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-viagra"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tA Vote of Confidence for Generics<\/h3>\n