You Won’t Believe Why the U.S. Government Spent Millions on Penis Pumps

The United States Government, being loaded with cash, dropped 172 million dollars on Penis Pumps between 2006 and 2011!  

Penis pumps or VES' (vacuum erection systems) are the only treatment approved by the Mayo Clinic for erectile dysfunction and the government bought a f***load of them for seniors with this problem.  Translation: someone at the Mayo Clinic owns a ton of stock in a VES manufacturer.

According to Reuters.com, a report by the inspector general for the Department of Health and Human Services;

Medicare, the government health insurance system for seniors, paid nearly 474,000 claims for vacuum erection systems (VES) totaling about $172.4 million from 2006 to 2011.

I'm sure seniors are much happier sportin' a woody but, when Medicare's having trouble providing folks with care and medicine, why is this even an option?

It gets better!  When Uncle Sam bought these suckers he got "stiffed", paying about twice the going rate for each VES.  TWICE THE GOING RATE!!  WTF??

The Rueters story said:

Medicare payment amounts for VES remain grossly excessive compared with the amounts that non-Medicare payers pay." "Medicare currently pays suppliers more than twice as much for VES as the Department of Veterans Affairs and consumers over the Internet pay for these types of devices."

Paying the same rate that private citizens, and another government agency, the Department Of Veterans Affairs, did online would have resulted in a savings of 14.4 million per year for all 6 of those years. That's 86.4 mil guys, think about that the next time your taxes go up. Or your military benefits go down.

They need to send a few of these vacuum thingys to all our federal representatives. Maybe they can use them to suck their heads out of their azzes ... WTF??