Native Americans Have Highest HCV Rates Limited funding restricts access to care

AGA Reading Room 10.12.2017

Native Americans Have Highest HCV Rates
Limited funding restricts access to care

by Pippa Wysong
Contributing Writer, MedPage Today

HCV infection patterns among Native Americans occur in patterns similar to those found in the rest of North America: younger cohorts who get the infection largely from unsafe injection drug use, and the baby boomer population. But incidence is disproportionately high. For example, American Native veterans born from 1945 to 1965 have an antibody-positive seroprevalence of 10%. All of this demonstrates this is an important cohort to treat.

Native Americans living in cities settings can get care at urban IHS clinics (in those cities that have them), many of which also serve as community health centers -- but these facilities are also struggling with funding issues.

IHS medical providers will apply to state Medicaid programs for DAAs on behalf of their patients, but the accessibility to treatment with DAAs varies between states. Sometimes coverage isn't available unless patients with substance use disorders are abstinent -- "which is not an AASLD [American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases] requirement," Leston said. And states vary in terms of the rules around accessibility to the drugs.

Continue reading - https://www.medpagetoday.com/reading-room/aga/lower-gi/68492

Primary Source

New England Journal of Medicine

Source Reference: Reilley B and Leston J "A tale of two epidemics -- HCV treatment among Native Americans and veterans" New Engl J Med 2017; DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp1705991.