A new Hepatitis C treatment agreement allows the Louisiana Department of Health to treat more Medicaid and Corrections patients in 75 days than in all of Fiscal Year 2019.
Office of Public Health Assistant Secretary Dr. Alex Billioux says the agreement with Asegua for “Subscription Model” access has resulted in 2,290 people getting treatment since July 15th.
“It allows us to treat as many people as we can in Medicaid, and it caps our costs, so our costs do not increase despite treating all of those folks,” says Billioux.
The “Subscription Model” plan runs through the next five years.
Hep C is the deadliest infectious disease in the nation, with tens of thousands dying from related complications every year. Billioux says that’s why getting unlimited access to the pill is so crucial.
“It’s 98% effective, and it only takes three months to be treated,” says Billioux. “It’s a pill a day for three months to be free from a deadly infection.”
The CDC estimates 3.5 million Americans live with Hep C.
Billioux says Hep C kills more Americans than all other infectious diseases combined, but you might not be aware of how deadly it is because of how slowly symptoms progress.
“It’s not like flu where you get infected, and three days later you get sick. With Hepatitis C it literally takes decades for the damage to your liver, the damage to your body to accumulate and lead to things like cancer or cirrhosis.”
The homeless, drug users, and those who live or work in non-sterile environments are most at risk for catching Hep C.
