Few California inmates with hepatitis C get costly Sovaldi

The drug is being given to fewer than 1 percent of the 17,000 inmates with the virus in California prisons, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. Meanwhile, a Senate Democrat plans a hearing on how VA hospitals are coping with its high cost.

San Francisco Chronicle: Prisons Balk At Sovaldi's $84,000 Cost For Hepatitis C Treatment
In San Francisco's jails, no inmates with hepatitis C are receiving Sovaldi, the breakthrough pill that can cure most patients in an unprecedented amount of time. In California's prisons, the drug, made by Gilead Sciences of Foster City, is being given to less than 1 percent of the 17,000 inmates with the virus. Sovaldi could wipe out what has long been an intractable disease. But its $84,000 cost for a 12-week supply doesn't fit into lean government budgets (Lee and Garofoli, 10/20).

The Wall Street Journal's Pharmalot: Senate Lawmaker Eyes Hearing On The Cost Of Hepatitis C Treatments
Responding to the ongoing controversy over the prices for new hepatitis C treatments, U.S. Sen. Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.) will probably hold a hearing -- possibly before the year ends -- to examine how the cost is affecting the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, according to his spokesman. Sanders is chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs (Silverman, 10/20).