US lags in hepatitis C testing and treatment

May 8, 2024

Hepatitis C virus clearance cascade 2013-22

Source: Wester, et al Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) June, 2023 LINK

This demonstrates that many who are diagnosed are not adequately treated.

While full body scans haven’t been proven to prolong life, treatment for hepatitis C dramatically decreases the risk of liver failure or need for liver transplant. A twelve-week course of well-tolerated antiviral medicines with over a 90% effectiveness rate of curing hepatitis C is one of the largest clinical advances in our lifetimes. However, only 120,000 a year have been treated for hepatitis C, fewer than half as many as would be necessary to eliminate the disease by 2030.

Hepatitis C is spread through exposure to bodily fluids. Almost half of individuals are able to spontaneously clear the infection without any treatment, but the rest go on to have chronic hepatitis C infection and many will suffer liver damage. More than half of all those infected with hepatitis C are covered by employer sponsored health insurance, and those infected are at much greater risk of premature death and of spreading this disease to those around them.  

The New York Times reported this week that there are fifteen countries that are on track to eradicate hepatitis C by 2030. The US is not on this list.

Implications for employers:

●      Employers can review coverage policies with their pharmacy benefit manager to ensure adequate access is available for hepatitis C treatment. The WTW Pharmacy Team can help clients address this issue.

●      The US Preventive Services Task Force recommends one-time screening for all adults (ages 18-79 years), which should be covered without cost sharing. Those at high risk should be tested periodically, although this testing would be subject to cost sharing.

Here’s a link to a previous post on Hepatitis C

Thanks for reading.  You can find previous posts in the Employer Coverage archive

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Tomorrow: New regulations to increase health app privacy