Spanish hepatitis C patients to march for access to expensive new drugs

Podemos leader asks sufferers to go with him to Brussels to explain their plight to MEPs 

Hepatitis C patients will march in Madrid on Saturday to demand access to expensive new drugs that the government only offers sparingly through the public health system.

“We will demand to be seen by [Prime Minister Mariano] Rajoy,” said Mario Cortés, president of the support group Plataforma de Afectados por la Hepatitis C, which is organizing the rally.

This group has been staging a sit-in at the capital’s 12 de Octubre hospital for the last 20 days, and is now ready to take its demands right to La Moncloa prime ministerial palace.

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New drugs offer hope, barriers for hepatitis C patients

For patients with hepatitis C, the last year has brought great hope: New drugs that are highly effective with few side effects. But their high cost has led Medicaid officials in Pennsylvania and other states to put up barriers for patients, treating only the sickest ones and leaving many others to wait.

"This is an unprecedented approach we've had to take with these drugs," said Terri Cathers, pharmacy director for Pennsylvania's Office of Medical Assistance Programs. "We've not done this before for other treatments as long as I've been in the business."

The approach, she said, is a direct result of the cost, which can range up to $150,000 per patient.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/health/20150104_New_drugs_offer_hope__barriers_for_hepatitis_C_patients.html#HAz2fKXJskLoLyFP.99