Johnson v. Peterson
Chronic hepatitis C disproportionately affects incarcerated individuals—by recent estimates, HCV is 17 to 23 times more prevalent among prisoners than the general population. Less than 1% of the United States population is incarcerated today, but roughly 30% of all Americans with HCV reside in prison. According to a 2017 meta-analysis, Ohio’s prison population has one of the highest reported rates of HCV infection as measured by antibody prevalence, at a rate of 36% compared to the national average of 18%. In collaboration with Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton, and Garrison LLP and the Center for Health Law & Policy Innovation at Harvard Law School, Rights Behind Bars filed an amicus brief on behalf of a group of medical organizations and doctors who specialized in correctional or kidney health to advocate for Ohio to change its outmoded institutional policies that result in the categorical denial of treatment to people in prison with chronic hepatitis C. Our amicus brief makes clear that revolutionary advances in the treatment of HCV have changed the standard of care such that virtually all patients with chronic hepatitis C should be treated.