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Hep C Discussion Forum -> Hep C News -> Medicare Eases Restrictions On Pricey Hepatitis C Treatment
Post Info TOPIC: Medicare Eases Restrictions On Pricey Hepatitis C Treatment
Cinnamon Girl


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RE: Medicare Eases Restrictions On Pricey Hepatitis C Treatment
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Hi Wayne, thanks for posting this very significant news item!  This new ruling by Medicare will have a huge impact for many people in the US who are in need of non-interferon based treatment who would otherwise not be able to access the Sovaldi/Olysio combo. 

Well done Walter Bianco, just shows what can be done when people are determined enough to fight for their health and survival.



__________________

Jill 

(71 yo, lives in UK)

Was Gen 3a, 

24wks Peg Ifn/Riba, Sep 2010 - Mch 2011

UND @ Wk.4, UND @ EOT, 

SVR Nov 2011 --> Still UND @ EOT + 4 yrs.

 

 
Matt Chris


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This is really really important news and it will make a lot of very happy folks that have been forgotten. I hope all the doctors are hearing this and calling their patients to re-apply for the combo.

matt 



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"And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make"

61 year old Geno type A1, F4 Cirrhotic, started 24 weeks on Harvoni 12-17-14 ,EOT-5 week = UND, 8-31-15 =UND , SVR-24 Baby YES! 
suziq


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  When I did the  "A Year Ago" post a few days ago--this had not changed yet or I had not heard about it yet.  Just in a few days time, things change for us now.  It was only nine months ago that I started my trial.  Nothing was approved yet except the old SOC or a few newer drugs--but still with interferon and long treatment times.  And the rates of success were so much lower. 

It is such wonderful news for the "older group" (actually the younger group from my standpoint LOL) needing treatment now.  And for those approaching 65 and those on Medicaid.

Great information Oldenslow,  Thanks for posting it.

SuziQ



__________________

Geno 1A  Age 82 Treatment naive Cirrhotic Told I had liver disease in 1966. Diagnosed as Hep C 1999.Started Merck clinical trial with Riba on 9/9/2013 Week 1 and 2 <25  Weeks 4, 8, 12,16,18 UND.  EOT Jan 14,2014  EOT +12 UND   JULY 1 2014 EOT+24= SVR
Isiscat2011


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Yay!  Good for Walter Bianco.  The treatment guidelines really do rule what must be paid for.  As new drugs are approved, and tx guidelines are updated, insurance companies and medicare/medicaid will have no choice but to pay.  Whatever the SOC is will be what they must pay for, and SOC is determined by tx guidelines.   

The problem with payment for the S/O has been that the first line SOC for genotype 1s (as determined by tx guidelines) has included Interferon and Riba. Off-label  S/O is only SOC as a secondary line of tx that does not apply to everyone.  That will all be changing soon.  Hard not to get excited seeing all the changes unfold right before our eyes.  

Thanks for posting this.  smile



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Diagnosed in 2011, Incivek triple in 2011, tx discontinued, Genotype 1a, CT, VL 7mill, cirrhosis dx in 2012, age 67, waiting for new DAAs.
patiently_waiting


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I just heard this on the radio as I was driving too. Glad to hear people with Medicare will be getting their meds now.

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42 yrs old: geno 1b, 23mil VL, ALT/AST 269/94 as of Apr '14.  Got HCV when I was 16.  Relapsed from Peg/Riba twice, last time in '08.  Completed Sol/Oly on 9/2/14, UND as of 10/7/14
OldenSlow


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"The shift has come about because of an Arizona man named Walter Bianco who was twice denied Medicare coverage for two new drugs that together cost about $150,000. But those denials were reversed this week after Shots and NPR's Morning Edition reported on Bianco's case. Bianco has been infected with hepatitis C for 40 years, and the virus has taken a toll on his liver.

In a statement late Wednesday, Sean Cavanaugh, deputy administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the reversal resulted from updated treatment guidelines that recommend the use of the new drugs Sovaldi and Olysio for patients in Bianco's case -- even though the combination treatment hasn't been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Before now, Medicare hadn't explicitly embraced the treatment guidelines that were issued in January by the Infectious Disease Society of America and the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases." 

Full Article

 



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66 y/o male - Geno 1b - F4 cirrhotic dx 2001 - 16 wk treatment w/ Sovaldi/Olysio/Riba - Und @ EOT+24 SVR

 
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