LOS ANGELES — Fewer people have gotten crucial medication for hepatitis C under Medi-Cal in recent years, troubling advocates who have pushed to expand the lifesaving treatment.
Hepatitis C, a slow-moving virus that can lead to liver cancer, cirrhosis and death, can now be cured in most cases with a few months of direct-acting antiviral medication. California has taken steps to dismantle barriers to obtaining the pills under Medi-Cal, the California Medicaid program, including eliminating requirements for prior authorization.
Yet the number of Medi-Cal patients getting the medications annually plunged more than 40% between fiscal years 2018-19 and 2020-21, according to data provided to the Los Angeles Times by the California Department of Health Care Services. The number remained flat the following year, hovering around 5,500 patients, and appears to have begun to rebound in this budget year.
