North Carolina Aims to Make Sickle Cell Gene Therapy More Accessible

Currently, the new FDA approved gene therapy cure for the disease is more than $2 million.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) will be applying for a new access model with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to make sickle cell gene therapy more accessible for North Carolinians.

CMS’s Cell and Gene Therapy Access Model will first focus on people on Medicaid living with sickle cell disease — an inherited blood disorder which leads to pain crises, hospitalizations, and health issues.

NCDHHS says around 6,800 North Carolinians have the disease, and 95% are Black, which parallels national numbers.

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