State Moves To Make Costly Hepatitis C Drugs More Accessible To Medicaid Patients

HARTFORD — Connecticut is poised to make a new class of costly hepatitis C drugs more accessible to the state's poorest patients.

The state Department of Social Services will classify Sovaldi, Harvoni and Viekira Pak as preferred drugs in its Medicaid program, which means they will be "readily available to our clients,'' said department spokesman David Dearborn.

The department is also simplifying its prior authorization process, which had been criticized by advocates for hepatitis C patients as a tactic designed to limit access to the expensive but highly effective treatments.

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Advocates Urge Easier Access To Expensive Drug For Medicaid Patients

Advocates for those living with Hepatitis C are urging the state Department of Social Services to ease new criteria patients must meet in order to have an expensive medication covered by Medicaid.

DSS has issued a bulletin to medical care providers, notifying them that patients with Hepatitis C who are enrolled in HUSKY A, HUSKY C or HUSKY D — parts of the state’s Medicaid program — must have “prior authorization” in order for prescriptions for the medication Sovaldi to be covered.

Prior authorization typically is required by insurers when they want to make sure certain prescription drugs are appropriately used. In essence, it requires enrollees to meet a higher threshold of criteria before insurers will agree to cover the medication’s expense.

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