Will Medicare Stop Paying for Penis Pumps?

That is the question!

As Medicare payments for penis pumps have soared by more than 500 percent in the past decade, federal fraud investigators have challenged the legitimacy of payments for thousands of the devices.

According to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, annual spending on the pumps has gone up from $7.2 million in 2000 to more than $36 million last year, still a tiny part of the $7.5 billion Medicare spends each year on durable medical equipment and outpatient supplies.

Even so, over the past four years, investigators have challenged more than $8 million in payments made for the devices, which Medicare classifies as male vacuum erection systems, according to statements from federal prosecutors in several states and the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Medicare payments for penis pumps soar 500 percent, as alleged fraud surfaces

Do you think that Medicare should keep paying for penis pumps? Tell us about it in our Medicare discussion forum!

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