HJBR Mar-Apr 2019

46 MAR / APR 2019 I  Healthcare Journal of BATON ROUGE column SECRETARY’S CORNER Eliminating hepatitis C The Department of Health’s plans to se- cure unrestricted access to curative treat- ment for hepatitis C have taken another step forward. In January, we released a solicitation for offers to identify a pharma- ceutical manufacturer to negotiate unre- stricted access to hepatitis C drugs. This innovative subscription model for drugs will allow us a strong opportunity to end Louisiana’s hepatitis C epidemic. Hep- atitis C kills more Americans than all other infectious diseases combined. In Louisi- ana alone, at least 39,000 people in our Medicaid program and prison system are infected with hepatitis C – a number that The Louisiana Department of Health: Seeking Innovative Solutions The Department of Health continues to implement new processes and solutions to improve the lives of Louisiana residents. In this column you will read how the department is seeking an innovative partnership to extend hepatitis C treatment to a greater number of people, how grants are being used to help those with a serious mental illness, and about the work of the Perinatal Quality Collaborative to reduce maternal morbidity. has continued to rise with our burgeoning opioid crisis. Gov. John Bel Edwards has said Loui- siana cannot afford to eliminate hepatitis C with the current high cost of drugs for treatment. In fact, less than 3 percent of Medicaid patients with hepatitis C were able to receive treatment last year. That is just not acceptable, and it is why the de- partment is pursuing this model. By negotiating a set fee for unlimited access to hepatitis C drugs, we will be able to dramatically increase the number of patients treated, and eventually eliminate the disease as a public health problem. Our goal is to treat more than 10,000 people enrolled in Medicaid and in the prison sys- tem by the end of 2020. Beginning July 1, 2019, a five-year partnership with a phar- maceutical manufacturer would provide Louisiana with unlimited access to highly effective antiviral treatment. “This subscription model effectively caps the state’s spending on expensive hepatitis C drugs and creates an incentive to treat as many infected people as possi- ble,” Gov. Edwards has said. “For the drug manufacturer, this model would guarantee fixed revenue for a contracted period of time, and allow the manufacturer to ex- pand their product reach into populations that otherwise would not have received treatment.” We are proud of this effort to ensure all Louisianans with hepatitis C receive effec- tive, affordable treatment as we work to eradicate this disease from our state. 39,000 / “In Louisiana alone, at least 39,000 people in our Medicaid program and prison system are infect- ed with hepatitis C – a number that has contin- ued to rise with our burgeoning opioid crisis.”