An advocacy group accused several insurers of discrimination for jacking up the prices of nearly all hepatitis B and C drugs, a potential violation of federal law.
The AIDS Institute said Monday that eight out of 12 major insurers that offer plans in Florida are charging beneficiaries as much as 30 to 50 percent of the cost for almost all of the hepatitis C and B drugs. The nonprofit group charges it makes access to such drugs very difficult.
For example, it said that insurer Cigna placed all brand hepatitis C and B drugs in tier five, where, depending on the pharmacy network or delivery option, the patient would pay a $2,750 deductible.
Humana also places almost all drugs in tier five and leaves patients with a $1,500 drug deductible.
The insurer told the Washington Examiner that it doesn’t discriminate. “Our benefits are designed to balance overall affordability with specific drug coverage policies that seek to manage the very high cost of specialty drugs,” the insurer said.
Cigna was not immediately available for comment.
Obamacare made it illegal for insurers to discriminate against beneficiaries based on their illness, the institute said.
It cited a recent letter sent to insurers that said it is discrimination to place all or nearly all drugs that treat a certain condition in the highest and most expensive tier.
Nationwide there are nearly 2 million people living with hepatitis B and 3.2 million who have hepatitis C, but as many as 75 percent have not been diagnosed, the institute said in a release.
In Florida, about 318,000 residents have hepatitis C, while there are no estimates for hepatitis B, the institute added.
The AIDS Institute previously sued four insurers in Florida over the same issue last year.
Hepatitis C drugs have undergone scrutiny over prices over the past year as new treatments have delivered a cure for the disease. But that cure comes at a hefty price of up to $100,000 for some treatments.
Consumer polls have shown that Americans are becoming increasingly worried about the rising cost of prescription drugs.
