Viagra soon available to some state Medicaid recipients

<br>(Oklahoma City-AP) -- Some Medicaid recipients in Oklahoma may soon be able to get Viagra from the Oklahoma Health Care Authority. <br><br>Viagra was first approved for use by the US Food and Drug

Wednesday, April 11th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

(Oklahoma City-AP) -- Some Medicaid recipients in Oklahoma may soon be able to get Viagra from the Oklahoma Health Care Authority.

Viagra was first approved for use by the US Food and Drug Administration in 1998, but states didn't want to offer the drug at that time because of its 10 dollar-a-pill price tag.

Federal mandates, however, require all FDA approved drugs to be offered to Medicaid recipients.

The OHCA believed Viagra should be included in the fertility drug category, but federal officials disagreed and ordered the drug be made available to all patients medically eligible.

The board will meet next month to determine who will be eligible for the drug, and how much they will receive.

If a patient is allowed four doses a month, the cost could be up to $29,000 for OHCA, which is already facing a limited budget.