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Prison Patients Demand Hepatitis C Drug

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Florida prison officials are asking a Tallahassee federal judge to reject arguments by hepatitis C-infected inmates demanding cutting edge treatment.

The inmates want to be treated with a relatively new class of drugs called “direct-acting antivirals.”

They claim the state’s refusal violates the Americans With Disabilities Act and another federal law called the Rehabilitation Act.

But lawyers for the Florida Department of Corrections argue that since the inmates are receiving standard care, they can’t claim discrimination.

The class-action suit could a affect thousands of inmates with the liver damaging disease.

A Miami native, former WFSU reporter Jim Ash is an award-winning journalist with more than 20 years of experience, most of it in print. He has been a member of the Florida Capital Press Corps since 1992.