Kansas Medicaid patients can now get antiviral Hep-C drugs
A court settlement will allow Medicaid beneficiaries in Kansas infected with the Hepatitis C virus to be able to receive the treatment they need regardless of how far their disease has progressed.
U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree approved on Monday the agreement in a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of enrollees in the privatized Medicaid program, also known as KanCare. The lawsuit challenged a Kansas policy that restricted the more costly treatment by direct-acting antiviral drugs to only the sickest Medicaid beneficiaries.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas lawsuit is among several nationwide demanding state Medicaid programs cover the treatment.
An attorney says 335 Kansas Medicaid beneficiaries were initially denied treatment since 2016 and another 2,600 enrollees suffering from the disease will now have access to the drugs.
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