Jennifer Hope Director, Marketing ARTA

However, it’ s an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to managing our overall health and wellbeing. Studies show, from a purely physiological perspective, remaining sexually active as you age can benefit your cardiovascular health, strengthen your immune system, improve sleep quality, reduce stress, and more.

Despite these benefits, aging can bring on a variety of natural hormonal changes that can make it difficult for both men and women to prioritize their sexual health. Some of these challenges can be managed by medication and lifestyle choices to help maintain sexual intimacy for you and your partner, leading to better overall health— that’ s why sexual health coverage is included in ARTA’ s benefit plans.

Sexual Health in Men

“ For men, aging can bring on a decline in the testosterone levels, leading to lower energy levels, erectile dysfunction( ED), and lower interest in intimacy,” says Kavita Mali, a pharmacist with ARTARx.“ ED is quite common and can also result from health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, or high blood pressure. Lifestyle choices such as smoking, a lack of physical activity, and a poor diet can also play a role in ED.”

The good news is that there are treatments available to help. Diagnosing ED in men involves a physical exam by a doctor, blood tests, urine tests, and any additional tests that your doctor may suggest. Kavita notes that there are many common medications available after a diagnosis is given, such as sildenafil( Viagra), tadalafil( Cialis), and vardenafil( Levitra). In some cases, she says, testosterone replacement therapy( TRT) can help with low libido and energy levels, although careful monitoring is needed due to potential side-effects. If you are participating in the Health Wise or Health Wise Plus benefit plan, you can receive 50 % coverage for ED medications; Ultimate Health and Health Wise Rx coverage is 80 %.

Sexual Health in Women

In November 2024, at the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans conference, I attended a session on women’ s health and discovered that, in contrast to men’ s health, women’ s sexual health is often overlooked as we age. Women experience many changes, including that dreaded word: menopause. Menopause is the transition period where women stop experiencing menstrual periods. There are three stages of menopause: perimenopause, menopause, and post-menopause.

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