Getting Priorities Straight on Health Care Spending?

Warning: This is a joke. It was sent to me by a friend with a slightly twisted sense of humor. It's why I cultivate and value her friendship:

Pfizer Announcement
Pfizer Corp. announced today that Viagra will soon be available in liquid form, and will be marketed by Pepsi Cola as a power beverage suitable for use as a mixer. It will now be possible for a man to literally pour himself a stiff one Obviously we can no longer call this a soft drink, and it gives new meaning to the names of 'cocktails', 'highballs' and just a good old-fashioned 'stiff drink'

Pepsi will market the new concoction by the name of: MOUNT & DO.

Thought for the day: There is more money being spent on breast implants and Viagra today than on Alzheimer's research. This means that by 2040, there should be a large elderly population with perky boobs and huge erections and absolutely no recollection of what to do with them.

On a more serious note, there are insurance companies that will pay for Viagra but not for prescription birth control pills or devices. Even more telling, dental care is not covered as a medical expense by many insurance companies. Nor are glasses, hearing aids, orthotics and other auxilliary medical devices. I can't imagine that those items are not considered medically necessary while coverage of Viagra is earnestly defended as "medically necessary to preserve and enhance lifestyle choices," as one executive years ago claimed on one of the Sunday morning talk shows.