Less than one-third of people with hepatitis C get treatment for this potentially deadly, but curable, infection within a year of their diagnosis, a new government report warns. Spread by contact with blood from an infected person, hepatitis C is a viral disease that inflames the liver and has no symptoms at first. Left untreated, it can cause liver disease, liver cancer and death. There is no vaccine to prevent hepatitis C infection, but there are antiviral drugs that can cure hepatitis C in 8 to 12 weeks.
A conversation with Carl Schmid
Carl Schmid, a long-time leader in the HIV advocacy world and executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute, says a national program to promote and cover the costs of preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is desperately needed.
HIV care fell in Black communities during COVID. Here’s how Congress can get it back on track.
Fears about undiagnosed or untreated HIV cases in Black and Latino communities are growing in the health care community after the coronavirus pandemic led to plummeting numbers of tests for HIV and prescriptions for HIV drugs. The medical community worries that thousands of people simply put off getting tested or getting care during the pandemic.
Chronically ill patients want voice in FTC pharmacy agent probe
Chronically ill patients are pushing the Federal Trade Commission to incorporate their experiences getting treatment into the agency’s study on the entities that manage prescription drug benefits. Pharmacy benefit managers say their role is to help ensure Americans get the most effective treatment at the lowest price. But patient advocates say that PBMs’ formulary designs and authorization requirements have delayed access to AbbVie‘s arthritis drug Humira, Gilead‘s HIV treatment Truvada, and other medications for patients who may only respond to a specific, specialized drug.
House Approps Subcommittee excludes funding for PrEP program
Executive Director for the HIV + Hepatitis Policy Institute Carl Schmid said he is disappointed over the exclusion of PrEP funding and hopes that the Senate Appropriations Labor committee will fund the program. The president’s budget called for spending $9.8 billion over a decade on a national PrEP delivery program. “Such a program is particularly necessary for those communities who have not taken full advantage of the highly effective HIV prevention drugs, including Black and Latino gay men and Black women. Even with the availability of low-cost generic and free daily oral PrEP drugs, uptake has been low due to the lack of community and provider outreach, lab and other medical costs, along with stigma,” Schmid said in a June 23 statement.