Does Obamacare cover erectile dysfunction?

Many people tend to think of Obamacare and the coverage it provides in very monolithic terms, as if the government itself were the insurer for all the health plans offered under the Affordable Care Act. In fact, health insurance plans under Obamacare must all provide a certain set of services for policyholders and all are required to cover prescription medicines. But each of the private insurers offering an ACA-qualified plan can have its own formulary, or list of prescription medicines that are available and at what copays.

Going back to your original question, treatment of erectile dysfunction involves diagnostic services, which can usually be obtained from your personal doctor or a specialist such as a urologist. With copays based on the plan you choose — bronze to platinum — such doctor visits are covered. As are other diagnostic services from laboratories.

When it comes to treatment for erectile dysfunction, some plans may include one or more of the popular PDE5 inhibitors as a preferred medication on their formulary of prescription drugs. This means that insurance will pay the bulk of the price of the medication, and you will contribute only a small copay. But the only way to find out which drugs are covered is to start shopping for an ACA-qualified health plan, taking care to see which medications are listed as preferred under each plan.