Medicaid Policy and Hepatitis C Treatment Among Rural People Who Use Drugs.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Restrictive Medicaid policies regarding hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment may exacerbate rural health care disparities for people who use drugs (PWUD). We assessed associations between Medicaid restrictions and HCV treatment among rural PWUD.

Methods

We compiled state-specific Medicaid treatment policies across 8 US rural sites in 10 states and merged these with participant survey data. We hypothesized that local restrictions regarding prescriber type, sobriety, and fibrosis estimates were associated with HCV treatment outcomes. We conducted a cross-sectional, ecological analysis of treatment restrictions and HCV treatment outcomes using bivariate analyses to characterize differences between PWUD who initiated HCV treatment and unadjusted logistic regressions to a

SUBMITTER: Stopka TJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11731889 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature