# Medicaid Prior Authorization Policies for Chronic Hepatitis C Treatment in Vulnerable Populations

> **NIH NIH K01** · UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA · 2020 · $129,252

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
 This is an application for a K01 award for Dr. Haesuk Park, Assistant Professor in the Department of
Pharmaceutical Outcomes & Policy at University of Florida College of Pharmacy. Dr. Park is establishing
herself as a young health services researcher in viral hepatitis and health policy for vulnerable populations.
This K01 award will provide Dr. Park with the support necessary to accomplish the following goals: (1) gain a
solid understanding of health risk factors related to hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection with emphasis on
substance use disorder and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) co-infection; (2) obtain intensive training in
the development of survey instruments and conducting survey research; (3) gain further epidemiology and
statistical knowledge relevant to longitudinal analysis of Medicaid claims and registry data; and (4) acquire
further grant writing skills and experiences, resulting in the submission of a R01 grant before the end of the
support period. To achieve these goals, Dr. Park has assembled a mentoring team comprised of a primary
mentor, Dr. Robert L. Cook, Professor of Epidemiology and Internal Medicine at University of Florida, an expert
on substance use and HIV infection, and three co-mentors: Dr. David L. Nelson, a hepatologist who conducts
clinical investigations in effectiveness and safety of new HCV therapies including HCV-TARGET and
PRIORITIZE study; Dr. Almut G. Winterstein, an expert on pharmacoepidemiology and disease risk models
using claims data; and Dr. Jeff S. Harman, who has expertise in health policy and health services research in
vulnerable populations.
 Despite effective HCV therapies now available, a majority of state Medicaid programs restrict access to
new HCV therapy for persons who use substances as well as individuals co-infected with HIV. Dr. Park's
current research will focus on the impact of Medicaid prior authorization policies on prescribers' practices,
patient's access to the new HCV therapies, and the clinical outcomes in HCV-infected patients with substance
use disorder and or HIV co-infection. This proposal has three specific aims: (1) to understand physicians'
attitudes and practices toward treating HCV-infected patients with substance use disorder and/or HIV co-
infection in relation to Medicaid prior authorization policies; (2) to compare treatment initiation rates among
patients (i) HCV mono-infected with substance use disorder, (ii) HCV mono-infected without substance use
disorder; (iii) HCV/HIV co-infected with substance use disorder; and (iv) HCV/HIV co-infected without
substance use disorder using two large states (Florida and Texas) Medicaid data; and (3) for treated HCV
patients, we will link the Medicaid dataset of patients with HCV-TARGET registry data to examine adherence to
antiviral regimes and sustained virologic response (SVR) and investigate whether adherence and SVR are
moderated by substance use disorders and/or HIV co-infection. Dr. Park will use qualitative (...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9906205
- **Project number:** 5K01DA045618-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
- **Principal Investigator:** Haesuk Park
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $129,252
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-05-01 → 2023-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9906205

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9906205, Medicaid Prior Authorization Policies for Chronic Hepatitis C Treatment in Vulnerable Populations (5K01DA045618-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9906205. Licensed CC0.

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