The HIV/HCV Co-Infection Watch is a project of the Community Access National Network (CANN) designed to research, monitor and report on HIV and Hepatitis C (HCV) co-infection in the United States. The HIV/HCV Co-Infection Watch delivers the information from a “patient-centric” perspective on access to care and treatment.

Sign-up for the HIV/HCV Co-Infection Watch.

OVERVIEW:

People living with HIV-infection face a higher risk of long-term liver failure as a result of co-infection with HCV. In fact, HCV-related liver failure has become the leading non-AIDS-related cause of death among people living with HIV-infection in the United States – and as such, treating HCV is of paramount importance.

With well over half of the HCV-infected population falling near, at, or below the Federal Poverty Limit (FPL), patients frequently rely on coverage provided by state- and federally-funded programs – such as the AIDS Drugs Assistance Program (ADAP), Medicaid and Medicare. It is for these patients, and those who still, for whatever reason, lack coverage, that the HIV/HCV Co-Infection Watch advocates.

The research component of the HIV/HCV Co-Infection Watch is designed to gather the following information:

• Formulary information in every state and territory covered by ADAP, as it relates to coverage for HCV drug therapies.

• Formulary information for HCV drug therapies covered by the State Medicaid programs.

• Formulary information for HCV drug therapies covered by the Veterans Affairs system.

• Information about patient assistance programs (PAPs).

• State-by-state harm reduction data for HIV, HCV, and HIV/HCV co-infection, as well as relevant public policy changes.

• Up-to-date information as it relates to national and regional trends.

• Other relevant statistics.

For the purposes of this report, coverage is divided into three categories:

• No Coverage – no HCV treatments are covered

• Basic Coverage – only older HCV regimens (Ribavirin, Pegylated-Interferon, etc.) are covered; no Direct Acting Antivirals

• Expanded Coverage – Direct Acting Antivirals are covered

The HIV/HCV Co-Infection Watch list-serve sign-up form is available online: https://www.tiicann.org/signup_listserv.php.

DISCLAIMER:

Any opinions expressed in this report are the opinions of the Community Access National Network, and are in no way to be considered the official position of any other party, including any directors, employees, funders or providers of either ADAP- or Medicaid-related services.

The purpose of these presentations is to provide a clearer picture of the state of the HCV treatment landscape for those patients co-infected with HIV/HCV. While the programs that offer limited or no treatment are color coded, these colors do not represent any judgments made about any of the programs, their directors, their employees, or their providers.

Additionally, any conclusions, observations, or recommendations made related to the design, layout, content, or maintenance of these state-run websites are the opinion of the HIV/HCV Co-Infection Watch, and are not intended to serve as a reflection of the programs, their directors, their employees, or their providers.

METHODOLOGY:

The HIV/HCV HIV/HCV Co-Infection research is conducted using the following resources:

• State- and privately-run websites (publicly available information, only).

• Prior research and reporting conducted by for-profit and non-profit organizations (publicly available information).

• Contact lists from state- and privately-run sources (publicly available information, only).

• Responses to a quarterly formulary survey.

Research gathering is conducted from a “patient perspective,” meaning that the project manager performs all tasks from the view of the patient. When conducting research, the researcher is tasked with considering the following questions:

• Is the information readily available?

• Is the information easy to access, clearly laid out, and easy to understand?

• Does the information answer basic questions about coverage options?

• Is the information up-to-date, recent, and accurate?

• Is the website user-friendly?

• Is there current and correct contact information available?

Using the information gathered during the research phase, data is documented, compiled and presented in a way that is clear and easy to understand. Maps are provided to indicate which states’ and territories’ programs offer HCV treatment coverage. “Coverage” is broken down into ten categories - Basic Coverage, Sovaldi, Harvoni, Zepatier, Epclusa, Vosevi, Mavyret, Pegasys, Harvoni (generic), and Epclusa (generic). This will be expanded as newer treatment options become available.

States and territories where no information could be found, whether because it was not readily available or because those entities failed to respond to requests for information by the researcher, are indicated on the maps by being “greyed” out (as opposed to filled in with color); those programs are indicated in the spreadsheets by being left blank, or with the symbol “?”.

Covid-19 Impact tracks how the novel coronavirus is impacting HIV-related and HCV-related public health programs.