$41M settlement for hepatitis C treatment

Four Colorado prisoners who sued prison chief Rick Raemisch in U.S. District Court in Denver, claiming they were not adequately treated for hepatitis C, have reached a $41 million settlement with Colorado that ensures all infected inmates will be treated for the deadly disease.

According to the settlement, the Colorado Department of Corrections will spend $20.5 million during this fiscal year for hepatitis C care and $20.5 million next year, according to a letter from John Spring, one of four plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit filed in 2017 by the American Civil Liberties Union.

The Colorado State Claims Board must first approve the settlement and the funds must be budgeted by the Colorado legislature, according to court records.

“We regard this settlement as a victory for all prisoners, including you,” read a letter written by Christopher Beall, one of the attorneys representing the prisoners. According to federal court documents, the agreement has been approved and the lawsuit has been dismissed.

All prisoners suffering with chronic hepatitis C symptoms will receive new antiviral medications to treat the disease.

The lawsuit had accused CDOC officials of denying life-saving cures without medical justification to more than 97 percent of the offenders who need them.

The lawsuit cited a statement by Susan Tiona, CDOC’s chief medical officer, that the department’s health policy means that prisoners will continue to die from hepatitis C for the next decade.

“CDOC’s chilling calculations, and its policies and practices, show deliberate indifference to prisoners’ serious medical needs, in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution,” the lawsuit says.

By 2016, CDOC officials were aware of 2,280 Colorado prisoners who had been diagnosed with hepatitis C, the lawsuit says.