Eradicating Hepatitis C Dependent on Congressional Action

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Francis Collins, NY Times 11/28/23: We Are Squandering One of the Most Important Medical Advances of the 21st Century

An excerpt:

Congress has an opportunity to turn this ongoing human tragedy into a public health advancement, by providing support for a five-year project to eliminate hepatitis C in the United States...

Each year, about 15,000 Americans die from hepatitis C, many in their 40s and 50s. Given the safe and effective cure available for the last nine years, the correct number of deaths in 2023 should be zero...

In March, President Biden came out in favor of a five-year program to put the United States on track to eliminate hepatitis C…The plan includes an innovative approach to provide broad access to curative medications, modeled on a successful effort in Louisiana. Under this approach, sometimes known as the “Netflix model,” a drug company or companies agree to provide full access to medications for a population in need in exchange for a set lump sum payment. In the current proposal, the populations who would have access to free hepatitis C drugs are Medicaid enrollees, the uninsured, Native Americans, and those in the prison and jail systems. If structured correctly, many more people can get lifesaving care and the cost per cure drops significantly…the plan also includes training, technical support and resources for primary care offices, federally qualified health centers, drug treatment centers, and jails and prisons…

An expert group has estimated that a national initiative to end hepatitis would save society more than $18 billion in health care costs over the next decade, with $13.3 billion of that savings accruing to the federal government.

My take: The advent of safe and effective hepatitis C medications has helped many. Particularly with the challenge of more infections due to intravenous drug use, it will take a concerted effort to eliminate this infection.

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