The Pentagon spends 5x more on Viagra than it would on trans medical costs
The Pentagon spends more than ten times more on medication to help troops with erectile dysfunction than it would have done providing medically necessary costs to trans troops.
In June of last year, President Obama asked the Pentagon to lift its long-held ban on transgender soldiers serving openly in the military.
The Department of Defense was given until July 1 of this year to implement the policy, with LGBT advocates hopeful that transgender soldiers would finally be able to serve openly.
The decision was delayed by Trump’s Defence Secretary James ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis – and the President confirmed today that he would reverse the decision put the ban back in place.
Despite President Trump citing the cost of implementing medical costs for transgender troops, comparing a study by the Rand Corporation from last year with the cost of providing Viagra and similar medication has shocking results.
The study into the cost of providing transgender medical expenses estimates that it would cost $8.4 million.
And according to a Military Times article, the Department of Defense spent $84 million on medications to treat erectile dysfunction in 2014.
The DoD spent $41.6 million on Viagra in 2014, only one of the drugs used for erectile issues, which is five times the cost of providing transgender medical costs.
Out trans former Navy SEAL Kristin Beck challenged President Trump to tell her to her face that she is “not worthy” after he announced the policy.
She also noted the negligible cost of providing the healthcare to trans troops compared to other military costs.
According to reports, the Pentagon was unaware that Trump was about to announce the rolling back of the Obama-era change.
It is not the first time Trump has gone out of his way to reverse a decision on LGBT rights made by Obama.
The GOP leader has already scrapped protections for transgender school kids, ceased government opposition to state-level anti-LGBT laws, and sought to slash HIV aid funding.
The decisions sour Trump’s previous claims during his election campaign to be a “friend” of LGBT people.
In a speech directly after the Orlando massacre he had claimed: “Ask yourself, who is really the friend of women and the L-G-B-T community, Donald Trump with his actions, or Hillary Clinton with her words.”
He also won endless praise from gay Republicans for waving a Pride flag on stage, while making no pledges on LGBT rights.
