The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Infectious Disease Prevention and Health Services Bureau is expanding the Maryland AIDS Drug Assistance Program (MADAP) formulary to include medications for hepatitis C. This action enables MADAP clients to access treatments known to cure hepatitis C in as little as 12-24 weeks.
“We are pleased to be able to include medications to the list of treatments available to Maryland residents co-infected with HIV and HCV who are enrolled in our MADAP program,” said Deputy Secretary for Public Health Services Dr. Howard Haft.
Hepatitis C medications added to the formulary as of April 2016 include Harvoni (ledipasvir/sofosbuvir), Viekira Pak, Sovaldi (sofosbuvir), Ribavirin and Zepatier. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 25 percent of people living with HIV are co-infected with HCV. Co-infection of HIV and HCV increases the risk for liver disease, liver failure and liver-related death.
“The Infectious Disease Prevention and Health Services Bureau is committed to working to ensure that Marylanders co-infected with HIV and HCV have access to medications that enable them to prevent life-threatening complications,” said Bureau Director Jeffrey Hitt. Marylanders with HIV are encouraged to call 410-767-6535 or 1-800-205-6308 to learn more about the MADAP Program.
The department urges baby boomers— persons between 1945 through 1965— to get an HCV test. Although anyone can contract HCV, 75 percent of adults infected with the virus are baby boomers. Health and Mental Hygiene’s Maryland Community-Based Programs to Test and Cure Hepatitis C, a CDC-sponsored initiative, is a collaboration between public health, primary care and specialty care to provide access to quality HCV screening and treatment.
For the Maryland AIDS Drug Assistance Program (MADAP) Formulary, visit: http://goo.gl/tdUzkz.