Appeals court upholds rationing of hepatitis C treatment – By The Associated Press (ABC News) / July 10 2021
The Kentucky Department of Corrections can deny a life-saving but expensive hepatitis C medication to inmates
CINCINNATI — The Kentucky Department of Corrections can deny a life-saving but expensive hepatitis C medication to inmates, a federal appeals court ruled in a split decision. The dissenting judge in last week’s 2-1 ruling at the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the majority’s opinion will condemn hundreds of prisoners to long-term organ damage and suffering, The Courier-Journal reported.
Hepatitis C is the leading cause of liver transplantation and serious liver disease, including cirrhosis and liver cancer, and Kentucky has the highest infection rate in the United States. Newer treatments can cure nearly 100% of patients but cost $13,000 to $32,000. Because they cost so much, the Kentucky Department of Corrections has restricted use of the treatment to inmates with advanced liver scarring, or fibrosis.
The majority found that denying treatment to most of Kentucky’s 1,200 inmates with hepatitis C does not violate the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
