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Around the U.S., people with serious diseases like Agar’s are falling through the cracks, unable to afford the medication they need even if they have good jobs and good insurance. Patients with HIV, cancer, lupus, leukemia, hepatitis C and other serious conditions are paying huge out-of-pocket sums for necessary medication. These costs are putting heavy mental and financial stress on some of America’s most vulnerable people. (Swanson, 6/30)

The battle over drug prices is playing out in states across the country, with at least four states capping consumers’ out-of-pocket costs and others considering transparency requirements to force drug companies to explain their high prices. (Norman, 6/30)

California taxpayers could be on the hook for billions of dollars to treat hepatitis C patients in various state-funded programs, according to a report released Tuesday by an insurers’ trade group. The analysis commissioned by the California Association of Health Plans estimates that paying for the patients’ high-priced hepatitis C medications in prisons and state hospitals, or through Medi-Cal and other state programs, could range from $512 million to $5.1 billion. The wide-ranging estimates depend on how many patients are treated and how much the drugs are discounted by manufacturers. (Gorman, 7/1)