[R.sub.x] for Double Standards.

It's the battle of Viagra vs. the Pill. A recent study by the Alan Guttmacher Institute reports that many insurance companies have sexist policies regarding coverage of certain "sex drug" prescriptions. In order to enjoy a more stress-free sex life, the study states, insurance companies are more than happy to provide coverage for impotence medications, such as Viagra. But the same insurance companies fail to provide reimbursement for the birth control Pill for women.

According to the study, only one-third of the insurance companies cover the Pill, which costs approximately thirty dollars a month. However, up to three-quarters of the insurance companies will reimburse men for Viagra, which costs ten dollars a pill.

Researchers who took part in the study say that the lack of coverage for women reinforces the notion that the U.S. healthcare system has been gender biased. Additionally, researchers point out, this bias makes little financial sense. A woman who is supported in her effort to avoid an unwanted pregnancy saves the healthcare system thousands of dollars in medical costs, both for herself and her child.

Changes may be a long way off. Currently, a bill in Massachusetts to require insurance companies to cover birth control pills has been stalled in Legislature for over a year.

--The Valley Advocate, June 4, 1998