WEDNESDAY, Aug. 10, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Few insured people with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection are receiving timely direct-acting antiviral (DAA) treatment, according to research published in the issue of preview of the August 9 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
William W. Thompson, Ph.D., of the Atlanta CDC, and colleagues constructed a cohort of adults aged 18 to 69 years with diagnosed HCV infection between January 20, 2019 and October 31, 2020, to examine the initiation of DAA Treatment.
The researchers found that the prevalence of starting DAA treatment within 360 days of the first positive HCV RNA test result was 23, 28, and 35 percent among those with Medicaid, Medicare, and private insurance , respectively; Treatment was initiated within 180 days of diagnosis in 75, 77, and 84 percent, respectively, of those treated. Compared with those with private insurance, those with Medicaid and Medicare had lower adjusted odds of treatment initiation (adjusted odds ratios, 0.54 and 0.62, respectively). Treatment initiation was lower for adults aged 18 to 29 and 30 to 39 with Medicaid or private insurance compared with those aged 50 to 59, after adjustment for insurance type. The odds of initiating treatment were lower for people in states with Medicaid treatment restrictions versus without (adjusted odds ratio, 0.77) and among those whose race was coded as black or African American or other versus white (adjusted ratios, 0.93 and 0.73, respectively). ).
“Increasing access to hepatitis C treatment in all populations, regardless of insurance type, is essential to reducing viral hepatitis-related disparities and achieving hepatitis C elimination,” write the authors
