Carl Schmid discussed with the Hepatitis B Foundation the financial challenges people living with hepatitis B face in the U.S., including high medication costs, insurance barriers, and the ongoing struggle to access affordable, life-saving treatment.
STI clinics are an important setting for the provision of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and are also one of the fastest growing categories of the 340B drug discount program. The HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute engaged BRG to determine how STD clinics are using the 340B program to fight HIV and viral hepatitis. BRG examined STD clinic enrollment trends over time using the HRSA 340B database in order to learn what types of clinics were enrolling and how they were able to obtain their 340B designation (direct or indirect funding). BRG also examined Medicaid claims in five states and Medicare claims nationally to identify which drugs were prescribed by providers at enrolled STD clinics, comparing PrEP and HIV/viral hepatitis treatment drugs with other drugs.
Carl Schmid and Kevin Herwig offer updates at USCHA on Braidwood v Becerra, which challenges ACA’s preventive services coverage requirement, and discuss the amicus brief filed by HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute and supported by 24 HIV and hepatitis organizations and other amici briefs filed by other groups.
Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute, is excited about the new Eliminate Hepatitis C (HCV) program put forth by the Biden Administration and being led by former NIH Director Francis Collins, MD, PhD, who is serving as a scientific advisor to the Biden Administration. “This is something we have been asking for years…We know we can end hepatitis C,” Schmid stated.
On World Hepatitis Day, Contagion Live community podcast featured HIV+Hep’s Carl Schmid discussing the challenges in the fight against viral hepatitis: “Every 30 seconds someone is dying of hepatitis, & the sad thing is people don’t even know about it. Like HIV, there is so much stigma. . . . It all comes down to testing. This is an infectious disease, remarkably, that can be cured. But we need more resources.”