Hepatitis C

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The Cure Hepatitis C Act Of 2025: Critical questions and policy design considerations

by | Dec 12, 2025

Curative direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) for hepatitis C virus (HCV) have been available for more than a decade, yet, an estimated 2.4 to 4.0 million Americans had the chronic disease between 2017 and 2020 (latest data available). This past June, Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) introduced the Cure Hepatitis C Act of 2025 (CHCA)—one way to potentially solve this public health problem once and for all. The legislation builds on encouraging developments, including Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s recent $98 million pilot program directed at individuals with substance use disorder and serious mental illness—populations that shoulder a disproportionate HCV burden.

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Don’t reverse America’s progress against HIV

by | Nov 21, 2025

It bears remembering that the United States has made tremendous strides against HIV in recent years. From 2018 to 2022, new infections declined by 12% nationwide–and by 21% in the communities targeted by the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative. However, there were still 39,000 new diagnoses in 2023, with over half of them in the South. Eliminating HIV prevention funding now would squander that progress and contradict President Trump’s original commitment to end HIV by 2030. In fact, earlier this fall, National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya reaffirmed that goal, noting the elimination of HIV as one of his top priorities. These devastating proposed cuts would make that impossible to achieve.

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How the “non-EHB” loophole is hurting employees and raising long-term costs

by | Sep 23, 2025

It’s no secret that employee health benefits are expensive. And understandably, employers and their benefits advisors are looking for ways to curb that spending. But in the pursuit of short-term savings, some are turning to an “insurance” scheme that shifts financial risk onto employees, disrupts essential medical care, and can ultimately result in higher long-term costs for businesses. Benefits professionals would be wise to recognize these schemes for what they are—and avoid them.

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A hidden insurance scheme is hurting patients

by | Sep 1, 2025

The Trump Administration can deliver a win that puts Americans first and tackles high medication costs for families. Today, glaring loopholes are empowering insurers and middlemen in our healthcare supply chain to sidestep regulations and patient protections and shift costs onto hardworking Americans. But, a simple promised fix can turn that around.

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Pharmacy benefit managers have become too powerful

by | Jan 2, 2025

Policies to reform the ability of benefit managers to profit from medication list prices and rectify misaligned incentives that lead to increased patient costs are critical to address their predatory role in our health system. Without action to advance proposals that would help patients better access the medicines they need, patients in Illinois and across the country will continue to be subject to pharmacy benefit managers’ “profit over patients” model. In the new year, Congress must act on reform.

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