By C1 Staff
BOISE, Idaho — The Department of Corrections has requested $800,000 to purchase a cure for hepatitis C that would run $94,000 a patient in order to treat infected inmates.
The Idaho Statesman reports that the cost difference between treating the inmates and letting them die in the ICU is “a compelling argument” for taxpayers.
The treatment for one patient who died of liver failure brought on by the disease added to up to $200,000.
The company that holds the patent for the drug, Gilead Sciences of California, has come under fire for their pricing.
The State Department of Health & Welfare has budgeted $6.5 million in the coming year to treat up to 49 people with the drug under Medicaid.