Ninety-Seven Percent of People in Prison with Hepatitis C Are Not Getting Treatment

Date:  07-31-2018 Despite Court ruling that medical care is a constitutional right for people in prison, medical cure for Hep C is routinely denied

From Truthout: State prisons across the US are failing to treat at least 144,000 prisoners who have hepatitis C, a curable but potentially fatal liver disease, according to a recent survey and subsequent interviews of state corrections departments. Many of the 49 states that responded to questions about prisoners with hepatitis C cited high drug prices as the reason for denying treatment. The drugs can cost up to $90,000 for a course of treatment. Nationwide, roughly 97 percent of prisoners with hepatitis C are not getting the cure, according to the survey conducted for a master’s project at the Toni Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Continue reading >>>