When people with hepatitis C virus (HCV) are covered by Medicaid or are uninsured, they are more likely to die compared with their counterparts who have other types of insurance coverage, MedPage Today reports.

Reporting their findings at Digestive Disease Week, researchers reviewed 2000 to 2010 data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey database and identified 311 people with hep C, or 1.4 percent of 19,452 individuals. Factors associated with being more likely to have HCV included being older, Black, male, unmarried, unemployed and a smoker.

Those with HCV died at a rate of 10.4 percent per year, compared with 3.1 percent per year of those without the virus.

Having hep C was independently associated with a 2.04-fold greater risk of death, including a 9.64-fold increased risk among those on Medicaid.

To read the MedPage Today article, click here.