Loosening Medicaid restrictions on hep C drugs could improve patient access, study finds
While state Medicaid programs have increasingly loosened coverage restrictions on hepatitis C drugs in recent years, a team of researchers at Harvard University recently published a study finding that a further easing of restrictions could improve uptake.
In a paper published in JAMA on Friday, the researchers examined 39 Medicaid programs between 2015 and 2020, 32 of which eased restrictions on direct-acting antivirals to treat hepatitis C. Medicaid programs had initially set restrictions on coverage of the antivirals because they were expensive, but over the years coverage has expanded as prices have come down and in response to litigation and advocacy.
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