| |
Prisons to Reduce Hepatitis Treatment
|
| |
| |
Philadelphia Inquirer
July 24, 2003
Mark Fazlollah
A state budget crunch is forcing Pennsylvania prisons this
fall to reduce by about 75 percent the number of inmates being
treated for hepatitis C.
The state currently has 8,030 inmates infected with the
virus - about 23 percent of the prison population - and is
treating 550, said Fred Maue, chief of medical services for the
Department of Corrections. Maue said those 550 prisoners would
receive their medicines, which cost $16,000 per patient for a 48-
week treatment course.
But beginning in September, prisons will apply stricter
eligibility rules and will focus on prisoners with a highly
curable form of hepatitis C - about 15 percent of those infected.
Maue estimates that 130 prisoners a year would receive treatment
and that number may ultimately be reduced to less than 100. "We
felt that we needed to prioritize our budget," said Maue. He
added that the reduction is justified because Pennsylvania is
doing better at targeting which patients could benefit from the
medicine.
That approach may get the state more bang for the buck,
according to Thomas Shaw-Stiffel, a specialist at Pittsburgh's
Center for Liver Diseases. "It's to the patients' benefit to be
more focused," said Shaw-Stiffel. "On the surface, [the
reduction] may look ominous, but it may be beneficial," he noted.
Despite treatment cutbacks, Pennsylvania still provides more
care than many states. For example, New Jersey is treating 33
prisoners for hepatitis C, up from treating just one inmate last
year. Under the leadership of Govs. Tom Ridge and Mark Schweiker,
Pennsylvania developed one of the most aggressive treatment
programs in the nation.
The new guidelines, which are in line with national prison
standards, will require inmates to have at least 18 months - up
from 12 months previously - remaining on their sentence and to
undergo liver biopsies before being considered for treatment.
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
