Louisiana is one step closer to implementing a new method of obtaining normally pricey Hepatitis C drugs — a move that health officials hope will drive down costs and ultimately help the state eradicate the deadly liver-damaging disease.
The Louisiana Department of Health announced Friday that three major pharmaceutical companies have expressed interest in partnering with the state on what’s being dubbed a “Netflix-style” subscription model for obtaining Hepatitis C treatment. Under that model, the state would pay a flat yearly rate for an agreed-upon period and receive unlimited supply of the medication each year. Current costs are so high that few people receive treatment under the existing model, LDH officials have said.
“Our goal with this subscription model is to provide access to treatment for vulnerable populations who need it,” State Health Secretary Dr. Rebekah Gee said in a statement. “We are very pleased with this level of interest and we are looking forward to working with at least one partner to help us end the hepatitis C epidemic in Louisiana.”
LDH received responses on the proposal from AbbVie, Asegua Therapeutics, a subsidiary of Gilead, and Merck.
The department will review all three and announce the selection of one or more partners in April. Under that timeline, the contract would begin July 1 with treatment starting shortly thereafter.
The subscription model idea has been mulled for nearly two years but only started to come together in recent months. Under the proposal, the state will take the money that it currently spends toward Hep C treatment in Medicaid and the prison system, and find a drugmaker that will agree to be paid that amount for unlimited access to the medication over a five year period.
Hepatitis C is virtually curable, but the high costs of medication have made it unaffordable for thousands of Louisiana residents who are infected and rely on the state for health care coverage. The state has been able to cover only a fraction of Hepatitis C patients on the state’s Medicaid program and in prisons.
Nearly 35,000 people in Louisiana’s Medicaid program have the Hep C virus, which is spread through blood contamination and can lead to liver disease and cirrhosis. Because of the high cost of medication, which can run in the tens of thousands of dollars, just 384 Medicaid patients were treated for it last year. Another 4,000 prisoners have Hep C, and a similar fraction received medication in the past year.
The actual number of Louisiana residents living with the curable illness is likely thousands more – at least one LDH estimate put it at more than 70,000 residents.
LDH’s goal is to treat more than 10,000 Medicaid-enrolled and incarcerated patients by 2021 and ultimately eliminate the disease through the use of the subscription model.
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