States’ Medicaid Programs Must Pay for Viagra, U.S. Says

State Medicaid programs must pay for Viagra, the popular but expensive new impotency pill, the federal government said Thursday.

Some of the largest states, including New York, had been saying no to Viagra pending the federal ruling. Others have been covering it.

Use of the drug will be closely monitored, and abuse could land it on a list of drugs that states can choose to exclude from coverage by the health insurance program for the poor.

“The law requires that a state’s Medicaid program cover Viagra when medical necessity dictates,” said Medicaid administrator Nancy-Ann Min DeParle in a letter Thursday to the National Governors Assn.

However, DeParle said that Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala “is greatly concerned about the potential for clinical or financial abuse.”

State Medicaid programs that include prescription drug coverage are required to pay for any drug prescribed for purposes approved by the FDA. The Health and Human Services secretary can add to a list of exceptions only when there is evidence that a drug is subject to inappropriate use, such as with some diet drugs.

The governors association calculated that covering the $10 Viagra pill would add up to more than $100 million each year, given its immense popularity.