Washington Ordered to Cover Hepatitis C Drugs During Lawsuit
- Hepatitis C drugs cost as much as $94,500 before discounts
- Washington verdict may set precedent for treatments nationally
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Washington’s Medicaid program must pay for expensive hepatitis C treatments like Gilead Sciences Inc.’s Harvoni ahead of a trial to determine whether the state can exclude the medicine from being covered.
Two patients sued the state health authority which runs the program in February for not covering treatment for patients with hepatitis C, a progressive disease that attacks the liver, because they weren’t sick enough. U.S. District Court Judge John Coughner said Friday that the state had to remove its coverage restrictions while the case is decided.