A trending issue in Michigan....
The patients had sued the Washington State Health Care Authority to get treatment with direct acting anti-viral medications, a newly approved cure for Hepatitis C. But the Washington state Health Care Authority limited access to the cure to only patients whose liver had been irreparably damaged by the disease, even though the scientific evidence shows that the cure is more effective and produces better health results, the earlier it is provided. The plaintiffs argued that forcing Medicaid enrollees to wait until their health worsens violates clinical guidelines of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). “[C]linicians should treat HCV-infected patients with antiviral therapy with the goal of achieving an SVR [sustained virologic response or cure], preferably early in the course of their chronic HCV infection before the development of severe liver disease and other complications.” See http://hcvguidelines.org/full-report/when-and-whom-initiate-hcv-therapy (emphasis added).