'Female Viagra' not covered by most insurance policies

A recent CNN study revealed the "double standard" observed for women with sexual problems and how it is manifested in their access to care. 

 

IHPI member Laura Hirshbein, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Michigan, said she's dismayed but not surprised that insurance companies are often refusing to pay to treat women with sexual problems.

 

"Men get told they can expect to function sexually and can expect to easily get whatever they need in order to do that," Hirshbein said. But she said that historically, women have been told that if they have sexual problems, they must be mentally ill.

 

"Women are told it's all in their head," she added.