Our colleagues at Harvard Law School’s Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation (CHLPI) have produced a new resource, Strategies to Improve Hepatitis C Care in Jails: A tool for advocates seeking to improve availability and uptake of HCV screening and treatment with direct-acting antivirals in jails. From the introduction:
As plans to eliminate hepatitis C continue to gather steam at the federal and state levels, jails and houses of correction must be part of the planning process. While these institutions present unique challenges given the complex psychosocial needs of carceral populations, the frequency of short stays, and the fact that they are subject to local control, they also provide a critical opportunity to reach more individuals with hepatitis C treatment—particularly as treatment rates among the non-incarcerated population decline. Yet hepatitis C screening and treatment in jails is rare, and they are not always included in state elimination plans. The following resource aims to arm advocates with resources to improve hepatitis C care in jails, including potential policy opportunities and strategies for success.
Combining subject matter expert interviews with legal, policy, and public health research, this resource describes policy opportunities and advocacy strategies to address barriers to care in local and county correctional facilities.