The Raleigh County Commission voted Tuesday to pay more than $8,000 to its health department to help cover the cost of hepatitis and HIV testing for former patients of the Raleigh Heart Clinic, and will press the clinic, which is already facing at least two lawsuits, to reimburse the county.
According to County Commission President Dave Tolliver, the commission voted to pay part of the cost of testing patients for the Raleigh County Health Department, which faces the same 25 percent budget cut from the state this year as other local health departments. The state covered part of the cost of testing, but did not pay for the equipment used, Tolliver said.
The commission has already sent a letter to the heart clinic requesting reimbursement, and Tolliver said it will approach the clinic's insurance for payment should the clinic refuse.
"[The health department] had so many people up there that it was stretching their budget, so they asked us to help with the medical supplies and syringes and some overtime, because after this story broke, people were everywhere up there, wanting to be tested," he said. "We agreed to pay for the supplies, and we've already sent Raleigh Heart Clinic a bill, and if they don't pay it, we're going to file against their insurance."
In March, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources sent letters to 2,300 patients who had visited the Raleigh Heart Clinic in Beckley between March 1, 2012, and March 27, 2015 warning them of their potential exposure to Hepatitis B and C and HIV. More than a dozen cases of hepatitis have been linked to the clinic.
Earlier this month, four new cases of hepatitis were reported. Although they were not conclusively linked to the clinic, the DHHR extended its testing recommendation to those who had visited the clinic prior to March 1, 2012. While there hasn't been any evidence of HIV transmission, patients are recommended to get tested because it is transmitted the same way as hepatitis.
According to Tolliver, the state pays for the testing itself, but does not cover the cost of collecting the samples, so the commission decided to step in.
"Obviously, this isn't something that happens every day, and I hope it never happens again," Tolliver said. "There have already been several people who have tested positive ... it's just sad something like this had to happen. It's unreal - it's an expenditure we felt, because they tested so many people and did stretch their budget, that we should help them out."
Anyone who has visited the Raleigh Heart Clinic for a stress test prior to March 27, 2015 who has not been tested for Hepatitis B, C or HIV is encouraged to call the Bureau for Public Health's HIV/STD hotline at 1-800-642-8244 or 304-558-2195.
Reach Lydia Nuzum at lydia.nuzum@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5189 or follow @lydianuzum on Twitter.