The Associated Press reports that Medicare will now pay for Viagra, beginning January 1, 2006, and is expected to cost more than $500 billion over the next decade.

Let's never mind the notion that taxpayers will now be paying seniors to have sex. What are the ramifications of seniors having more sex?

• Increased HIV Infection - Drugs that extend the lives of seniors and improve their sexual performance, leads to higher risk of HIV. In fact, Seniors already have the highest rate of HIV infection. But the real reason for increased HIV infection among seniors is that they don't use condoms, figuring that there's no risk of pregnancy.



• Increased infidelity - Men don't lose their desire for sex, but women eventually do. I think this will lead to more divorces, and possibly more older men fathering children.



• Seniors wearing provocative clothing - YIKES!! Nuff said.

I'll be honest with you, I don't feel the above are reasons against subsidizing Viagra with government money. People, not the government, should be responsible for themselves.

But I still don't approve of giving Seniors cheap Viagra. Anytime you lower the cost of something, you also increase its demand. What this will mean is more people will use Viagra, when they're getting by just fine right now.