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The Washington state Medicaid program has been ordered to lift restrictions on coverage of pricey hepatitis C treatments, according to a preliminary injunction issued Friday by a federal judge in Seattle.
The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by state residents who claim the drugs are “medically necessary,” and that the decision by the Washington State Health Care Authority to provide coverage to only the sickest patients had caused them harm.
In a strongly worded, 12-page opinion, United States District Court Judge John Coughenour agreed with their argument. He wrote that the facts “clearly favor” their contention that state policy violates federal law. In his view, the evidence “establishes that there is a consensus among medical experts and providers that the life-saving [drugs] are medically necessary” for all hepatitis C patients.
Read more…https://www.statnews.com/pharmalot/2016/05/27/washington-state-hepatitis-drug-prices/
See also the press release from the Hepatitis Education Project and The Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation of Harvard Law School (CHLPI): http://www.chlpi.org/federal-court-requires-wa-medicaid-to-provide-hcv-cure-to-patients/