Motivate C a Profitable Hep C Initiative

April 29, 2024
By Greg Jefferys
0 Comment

Motivate C a Profitable Hep C Initiative

Whilst I am very happy to see initiatives to get people with Hep C treated I would like to point out the dark side of this program.

And I want to stress again… I love to see people get treatment for their Hep C but you need to see behind this, for what it really is…

Firstly, as far as I am aware the program is partially funded by grants from Hepatitis Australia and the Australian Government Future Fund.

The amounts paid to participants are not more than AUD$1,000 and can be as low as AUD$150.

There is no guarantee of the amount you get paid. High and low amounts are randomly assigned by computer. It’s a lottery and their website says there is actually no guarantee of payment at all.

So let’s say that the average pay out is $400 per person per treatment.

The PBS pays for the med.

The PBS pays the below costs for the meds:

Mavyret will cost the PBS $16,846.67 per treatment.

Epclusa will cost the PBS $11,923.37 per treatment.

The cost to AbbVie of an 8 week treatment of Mavyret is about US$75

The cost to GILEAD for a 12 week treatment of Epclusa is about US$68

How Much will Motivate C Cost the Australian Taxpayer?

So for every person who gets brought in for treatment with the promise of a bit of cash.

The PBS will pay Big Pharma more than $11,000.

This means that Big Pharma is laughing all the way to the bank.

Let’s say that the program treats 1,000 Australians.

That means Big Pharma will walk away with over $11,000,000 (eleven million dollars). Now that is money that could have been spend on Emergency or Maternity Departments in Australian hospitals.

Sofosbuvir Patent Expires 2025

Next year, 2025, the Sofosbuvir patent expiries. This means that cheap generic Hep C treatments, costing less than $500 per treatment, will become available in Australia. Obviously Big Pharma is in a rush to squeeze as much money out of the PBS as it can before the Sofosbuvir patents expire.

From the MOTIVATE C website

Participants are offered a compensatory payment of $105 if they have a blood test to confirm their hep C infection and MAY be eligible to receive a money incentive if they commence hep C treatment.

The payment/incentive is provided as a digital gift card or money loaded onto a physical debit card. Participants can use the money to help them cover out-of-pocket costs from having treatment, or they can use it for any other purpose they choose.

While all participants are offered the compensatory payment, the money incentive may not be offered to all participants and among those who are offered the money incentive, not everyone is offered the same amount of money. This is because we want to work out if larger amounts work better than smaller amounts. The specific dollar value of the incentive you have been offered has been selected at random (like a roll of dice) by a computer. It is not controlled by your navigator and cannot be changed.

Post Categories
Uncategorized

Hepatitis C Blog