MELVIN DURAI'S AMUZING LIFE
"VIAGRA PUTS MEN'S NEEDS IN LIMELIGHT"

     Viagra, the potency drug, works wonders -- or so I've heard. It has enabled many impotent men to gain and maintain, at least for a short time, some rather big smiles.

     But the blue, diamond-shaped pills seem to have raised more controversy than anything else.

     Some women are blasting insurance companies for covering the cost of Viagra, but not birth control. They find this unfair, especially since the men taking Viagra are creating a greater need for birth control.

     Congress, meanwhile, is trying to prohibit federal and state governments from using Medicaid to help poor men buy Viagra. The lawmakers believe in government-sponsored elections, but not government-sponsored erections.

     There'd be no major controversy, of course, if Viagra were as cheap as aspirin. But Viagra's maker, Pfizer Inc., isn't exactly Pfoolish. They know men would do almost anything to regain their sexual ability, even max out their credit cards. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Pfizer offers men a new credit card: Visa-gra. (Slogan: We'll keep your credit limit rising.)

     At $10 a pill, Viagra is neither cheap nor expensive. A tycoon like Donald Trump can afford to take a pill with every meal, hoping he'll need it. A poor man must save his pills for just the right moments, when his wife doesn't have a headache.

     But impotency is nothing to joke about, especially if it affects you. It can result from a number of serious medical problems. That's why insurance companies cover Viagra, though some pay for only a limited number of pills, giving men a monthly allowance of sex.

     The companies don't want men overdosing on Viagra. They don't want men handing out Viagra to friends like candy. They don't want jars of Viagra turning up under the Christmas tree.

     Insurance reps must be having some interesting conversations:

     CUSTOMER: "My insurance paid for eight Viagra pills this month, which I've enjoyed using. But how do I get through the remaining 29 days?"

     REP: "I'm sorry, sir. If you want any more sex, you're going to have to pay for it yourself."

     By paying for Viagra and not birth control, the insurance companies seem to telling men to have lots of sex and women to have lots of children.

     But if insurance companies paid for birth control, they'd probably go broke. So many people use birth control and so many others need to.

     Of course, it can be argued that Medicaid and insurance shouldn't pay for a drug like Viagra that isn't a necessity. Do men really NEED to have sex? That's a good question to pose to a government leader, such as Bill Clinton.

     REPORTER: "Mr. President, do you believe men need to have sex?"

     CLINTON: "I did not have sexual relations with that woman."

     REPORTER: "No, Mr. President, this question isn't about you. It's about all men, even Newt Gingrich."

     CLINTON: "As I said before, I believe that all men, regardless of race, income and marital status, should have an equal opportunity to have sex. What good is Medicaid if it doesn't help poor men have sex? I feel their pain. Yes, I do."