Cost Burden of Hepatitis C Virus Treatment in Commercially Insured Patients
Rates of hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment in a commercially insured population doubled after availability of new direct-acting antivirals. Member out-of-pocket spending was kept low while the health plan bore 99% of spending on HCV medications.
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Maine wants to take more control over its Affordable Care Act marketplace; Surgeon General Jerome Adams, MD, MPH, has issued an advisory against marijuana use in young people and pregnant people; the FDA is warning of rare occurrences of serious liver injury from use of 3 hepatitis C virus (HCV) drugs.
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5 Findings From the August 2019 Issue of AJMC®
August 16th 2019The August issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC®) featured research on surprise medical billing policies, social determinants of health, and the value of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies, among other topics. Here are 5 findings from research published in the issue.
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Late hepatitis C virus infection diagnosis points to a need for earlier screening and treatment before the onset of severe liver disease leading to high cost and diminished outcomes.
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Changing Demographics Among Populations Prescribed HCV Treatment, 2013-2017
From 2013 to 2017, the population of US patients prescribed treatment for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) changed, becoming predominantly treatment-naïve and having received care in nonacademic centers.
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CMS has approved Washington state’s proposal for a subscription model to purchase hepatitis C virus (HCV) drugs; the American Medical Association (AMA) voted against a measure that would drop its decades-long stance against single-payer healthcare proposals; Maine has become the eighth state to legalize medically assisted suicide.
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5 Findings From the February 2019 Issue of AJMC®
February 15th 2019The February 2019 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC®) featured research on value-based arrangements, effects of cesarean delivery data, and more. Here are 5 findings from the research published in the issue.
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Impact of Hepatitis C Virus and Insurance Coverage on Mortality
The Medicaid population has significantly higher hepatitis C virus (HCV) prevalence and mortality rates than patients with private insurance. These data must be considered when policy makers assess providing additional support to Medicaid programs for HCV elimination.
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Glecaprevir/Pibrentasvir Is Safe, Effective in Treatment of HCV in Real-World Setting
December 22nd 2018The efficacy and safety of glecaprevir/pibrentasvir (G/P, sold as Mavyret) in the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) has previously only been investigated in clinical trials. Thus far, no real-world data had been available until a group of researchers looked to investigate the efficacy and safety of G/P in a real-world setting in Italy.
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HCV Prevalence Higher in West and Appalachian US States
December 21st 2018Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the most frequently reported bloodborne infection in the United States, and prevalence has increased in recent years. Researchers recently sought to estimate the prevalence of HCV at the state level in order to more accurately guide prevention and care efforts.
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Sofosbuvir-Based Therapy Safe in Patients With HCV and Certain Cancers
December 15th 2018Existing data are limited on the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) in patients with cancer. In a study recently published in Nature, researchers sought to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a sofosbuvir (Sovaldi)-based therapy in this patient population.
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Study Finds HCV Infection Increases 10-Year Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
December 14th 2018A combined analysis of data gathered from the Canadian Health Measures Survey and the US–National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found a 2.5% to 3.5% increase in the 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with a hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.
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HBV Reactivation a Serious Adverse Effect of DAAs in the Treatment of HCV
December 6th 2018A kidney transplant patient treated with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) for a chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection showed reactivation of the hepatitis B virus (HBV), which proved fatal. The authors of the report recommend a call to action for including HBV testing as part of the patient’s work-up in transplant recipients who are on immunosuppressants, especially in the context of abnormal liver tests.
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To better understand the characteristics of patients with chronic kidney disease who require hemodialysis or renal transplant, researchers in Brazil evaluated the prevalence of resistance-associated substitutions to direct-acting antivirals in this population who also carry the hepatitis C virus (HCV).
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Universal HCV Screening Economical Over Risk-Based Screening in Pregnant Women
November 22nd 2018According to a new study presented at The Liver Meeting, combining universal screening for the hepatitis C virus (HCV) with reflex RNA PCR in pregnant women is more cost-effective than risk-based screening.
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ANCHOR Study Finds High Adherence Rate in Patients With Hepatitis C Who Inject Opioids
November 14th 2018Research presented at The Liver Meeting, held by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, found high rates of adherence, treatment completion, and sustained virologic response among patients infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) who inject drugs. These findings led authors to recommend inclusion of this subset of patients in HCV treatment programs.
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Antiviral Therapy Prevents HCV in Patients Receiving Infected Donor Hearts
November 10th 2018Preliminary data from a new study has demonstrated that pre-emptive administration of pan-genotypic, direct-acting antiviral therapy prevents hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in HCV-negative cardiac transplant patients receiving donor hearts infected with the virus.
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Hepatitis C Care Cascade Among Persons Born 1945-1965: 3 Medical Centers
In this analysis of patients with newly diagnosed hepatitis C, linkage to care was largely successful in the 1945-1965 birth cohort, but treatment initiation remained low. Check out our website’s new table/figure pop-up feature! Click on the name of a table or figure in the text to see it in your browser.
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Ohio Tells Medicaid PBMs That 2019 Will Be a Time for Transparent Contracts
August 16th 2018Less than 2 months after receiving a report showing that pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) in Ohio billed taxpayers 8.8% more for medications used by those in the state’s Medicaid program, the state this week said it is ending its contracts with all of its PBMs and starting over in transparent contracts.
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Evaluating HCV Screening, Linkage to Care, and Treatment Across Insurers
August 10th 2018An optimized hepatitis C virus screening and linkage-to-care process reduces the number of patients lost to follow-up and improves linkage to care for Medicare, Medicaid, and commercially insured patients.
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