An artist, gamer, and movie lover, Curtis McLaughlin (above) has been part of the Health Care for the Homeless Art Group for more than five years.
Art is one of my coping skills. I can be anywhere and create art wherever I go.
07.22.19
Chief Health Officer Nilesh Kalyanaraman sees firsthand the policy barriers to treating people with hepatitis C.
John and Regina were two of my clients with hepatitis C, a disease that we can cure. But, because of insurance restrictions, I could only treat John.
Unlike John, Regina did not have enough liver damage to qualify for Maryland Medicaid coverage. We checked Regina’s liver every six months, but the level of damage didn’t change. I had to apologize every time for a rule that didn’t make any sense.
Sadly, 60% of clients with hepatitis C are like Regina. They are denied treatment and a real health victory in a state that has one of the highest rates of hepatitis C in the country.
As a doctor, I’ve never encountered restrictions based on liver damage working with private insurance or Medicare. With the added risk factors associated with poverty, substance use and homelessness, Medicaid restrictions are devastating. Recent studies show that Medicaid recipients are 10 times as likely to die from hepatitis C than people with private insurance.
Thanks to advocacy efforts you supported this spring, the state committed to expand treatment to more people. Despite this, Maryland is not currently planning to provide the cure to everyone with hepatitis C, even though it has the funds to do so. I am sure you agree that everyone who has the disease should have access to the cure. Together let’s keep the pressure on the Governor to provide equal access to life-saving health care, so that the next time Regina walks into the clinic, I can tell her, “There’s a cure for that. Let’s get started.”
Tell Governor Hogan to make the hep C cure available to ALL at larry.hogan@md.gov
An artist, gamer, and movie lover, Curtis McLaughlin (above) has been part of the Health Care for the Homeless Art Group for more than five years.
Art is one of my coping skills. I can be anywhere and create art wherever I go.
Client storytelling is a staple of the nonprofit business model, ever present in advocacy, clinic tours, fundraising—and news articles like the one you are reading right now.
The Trans Rights Advocacy Coalition (TRAC) has been the driving force in championing trans rights policy changes in Maryland. Due to stigma and structural discrimination, transgender people—particularly transgender people of color—experience high rates of homelessness. Following the implementation of the Trans Health Equity Act in January, we talked with TRAC leadership about their work and community.
Since starting in January 2022, REI Health Specialist Arie Hayre-Somuah, LMSW, MPH has worked with our clinical teams to identify health disparities and move us closer to health equity. This year, she is turning her focus to the topic of health literacy.