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HCV, HIV, IDUs - Local, state, groups meet to combat alarming drug rise in NC
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Domestic HIV is funded at $24.2 billion and global at $6.2 billion in the request.......http://www.natap.org/2014/HCV/080614_01.htm
While we are spending money on new HCV drugs for treatment once HCV is cured that mostly eliminates healthcare costs associated with HCV and drives down rate of increase on domestic healthcare costs.....http://www.natap.org/2015/HCV/122115_02.htm.........
The value of a cure is estimated at $256 Billion relative to no treatment.......http://www.natap.org/2015/AASLD/AASLD_93.htm......
http://www.natap.org/2015/AASLD/AASLD_58.htm.........cost per SVR with Harvoni for a non-cirrotic GT1a patient is $100,397 (12 weeks) which includes cost of drug, monitoring & adverse events in the short term & the long-term cost is $101,635, AND the cost of NO TReatment is $141,856.....approx $41,000 per patient saved....x 3 mil or 5 mil]......"At the population level, assuming a QALY value of $50,000, both 2nd generation triple therapy and all-oral regimens demonstrated positive cure values of $19.5 billion (bn) and $68.9 bn respectively (drug costs only) and $149.9 bn and $256.9 bn respectively (total lifetime costs) relative to no treatment
Large commercial insurers appear to have eliminated the fibrosis (F3) restriction [due in part I think to price reductions from HCV drug companies & the appreciation of cost-effectiveness over the long-term......UnitedHealthCare's PBM Optum says in a report they issued the new HCV are are cost-effective http://www.natap.org/2014/HCV/052914_01.htm.....But state Medicaids with federal complicity have not eliminated this restriction.
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By Josh Birch Published: January 26, 2016
http://wnct.com/2016/01/26/local-state-groups-meet-to-combat-alarming-drug-rise-in-nc/
GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) - Local and state groups dedicated to combating drugs and alcohol in the state met Tuesday night in Greenville with one main mission — to save lives.
Robert Childs, director of the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition, was the guest speaker during the Pitt County Coalition on Substance Abuse meeting. During his presentation, he discussed the alarming trends seen in the state involving heroin use.
Childs said there has been a 402 percent increase in heroin overdose deaths in the state between 2010 and 2014.
"We're seeing a lot more young people who are going on heroin, and when they do that, a lot of them don't know what they're doing," he said.
One way to combat the overdose is making drugs that reverse the effects of it, like Naloxone, readily available. Since 2013, Childs and his organization have handed out more than 20,000 Naloxone kits, which have been credited for saving the lives of more than 1,000 people across the state.
Another issue he sees is the difficulty in drug users getting syringes. He said because of that, there is more sharing occurring, which increases diseases like HIV and Hepatitis C.
On average, it costs between $385,000 and $620,000 to treat each case of HIV, while it costs between $100,000 and $500,000 to treat each case of Hepatitis C. [from Jules: ARTs over 30 years at 12K per year costs $360,000 then add in healthcare costs, quarterly doctor visits, comorbidities care, and its $400-500,000 at least. HCV drug costs after rebate at current costs are about $50k to Medicaid and then HCV is cured. In theory there should be no additional costs except if you delay treatment until cirrhosis requiring an ultrasound every 6 months forever. In addition the US federal govt spends domestically every year $24 Billion on HIV, $5 Bill for Medicaid & $4.5 Bill for Medicate every year. Compare that to curing/eliminating HCV for which I believe the CDC estimates as $100 Bill to eliminate HCV in the US and compare that to the estimated]
He said they are pushing for lawmakers to start a syringe exchange program, which would not only make syringes more accessible, but also expose users to different treatment methods to break the habit all together.
"We can start addressing mental health. We can start addressing some of the other barriers that have been out there for them," Childs said.
But heroin is just part of the problem here in the East. DH Conley Senior Sarah Sudekum said in their culture, drugs and alcohol have become acceptable. She said her exposure to things like marijuana started early.
"Somebody brought it to a birthday party and I saw it, and that was probably 7th grade," she said.
She said she tries to distance herself from people using drugs and alcohol. She said one of the biggest ways to curb the problem is giving teenagers more facts about the harm drugs can cause.
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