The US government spent $172 million (£105 million) on penis pumps through its Medicare service between 2006 and 2011 according to a new report.
Medicare spent double what consumers would have paid for the 474,000 vacuum erection system (VES) devices on a retail level according to the report by the inspector general for the Department of Health and Human Services said Medicare.
Such devices are one of the few treatments for erectile dysfunction alongside drugs such as Viagra or Cialis, but with lawmakers currently trying to reach agreement on Medicare’s budget, inefficient spending and being overcharged for such devices is a major issue.
