Cost-Effectiveness of Scaling Up HCV Prevention and Treatment in the United States for People Who Inject Drugs.

AIMS To examine the cost-effectiveness of hepatitis C (HCV) treatment of people who inject drugs (PWID), combined with medication-assisted treatment (MAT) and syringe-service programs (SSP), to tackle the increasing HCV epidemic in the United States. DESIGN HCV-transmission and disease progression models with cost-effectiveness analysis using a health care perspective. SETTING Rural Perry County, Kentucky (PC), and urban San Francisco, California (SF),USA. Compared with PC, SF has a greater proportion of PWID with access to MAT or SSP. HCV treatment of PWID is negligible in both settings. PARTICIPANTS PWID, data collected between 1998 and 2015 from Social Networks Among Appalachian People, U Find Out, Urban Health Study, and National HIV Behavioral Surveillance System studies. INTERVENTIONS AND COMPARATOR Three intervention scenarios modeled: baseline-existing SSP and MAT coverage with HCV screening and treatment with direct-acting antiviral for ex-injectors only as per standard of care; Intervention 1-scale-up of SSP and MAT without changes to treatment; and Intervention 2-scale-up as Intervention 1 combined with HCV screening and treatment for current PWID. MEASUREMENTS Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) and uncertainty using cost-effectiveness acceptability curves. Benefits were measured in quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). FINDINGS For both settings, Intervention 2 is preferred to Intervention 1 and the appropriate comparator for Intervention 2 is the baseline scenario. Relative to baseline, for PC Intervention 2 averts 1,852 more HCV infections, increases QALYS by 3,095, costs $21.6 million more, and has an ICER of $6,975/QALY. For SF, Intervention 2 averts 36,473 more HCV infections, increases QALYs by 78,93, costs $ 872 million more, and has an ICER of $11,044/QALY. The cost-effectiveness of Intervention 2 was robust to several sensitivity analysis. CONCLUSIONS Hepatitis C screening and treatment for people who inject drugs, combined with medication-assisted treatment and syringe-service programs, is a cost-effective strategy for reducing hepatitis C burden in the United States.