State of hepatitis C being cured is dismal for patients

According to a new CDC report, only one-third of individuals with documented hepatitis C diagnosis were cured over the past decade. Based on data which spanned from 2013 to 2022, the report also found that for patients without health insurance under the age of 40 years, only 1 in 6 have been cured.

In 2013, curative treatments known as direct acting antiviral agents were introduced to combat hepatitis C, offering cure rates of near 100% with minimal adverse effects. The treatment is costly, however, and arduous prior authorization requirements are usually necessary.

“This alarming assessment of HCV cures in the modern treatment era underscores a stark reality: the benefits of pharmaceutical advances will only come to fruition through concerted action to rectify glaring gaps in our health care financing and delivery systems,” said a press statement from the Center for Health Law & Policy Innovation of Harvard Law School and the National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable, in response to the report.

According to CDC, hepatitis C affects approximately 2.4 million Americans and is the deadliest bloodborne infectious disease in the United States.