It’s been called a wonder drug – not simply a treatment for hepatitis C but a cure. That’s the good news.

But at costs estimated as high at $100,000 per treatment, curing patients at the ACI could “bankrupt the state,” in the opinion of Richard Ferruccio, president of the Brotherhood of Correctional Officers.

Eight inmates have been administered the drug, A.T. Wall, director of the Department of Corrections, told the House Finance Committee Thursday during a review of the department’s $200 million budget request.

With an inmate population of 3,200 and based on the national percentage of inmates with the virus, Ferruccio believes there could be as many as 200 inmates with hepatitis C. The disease, which attacks the liver, is frequently transmitted by intravenous drug users.

Following Thursday’s hearing, Wall said that the department uses Medicare standards in determining the level of medical care given inmates.

Speaking of the treatment, Wall said, “It is expensive but very effective. It can cure.” Even at prices of $100,000, he said the drug could be a “cost avoidance.” This is in apparent reference to one inmate who Ferruccio said had two liver transplants at a cost of about $1 million to the state.

Committee member Rep. Deborah Ruggiero questioned whether Wall appealed to the pharmaceutical companies and Congress in an effort to reduce costs. The director said discussions are being held between state correctional departments to collectively negotiate a preferred rate, but nothing has happened thus far.

Ferruccio, who has been outspoken in his criticism of the department in the past, said after the hearing he is in a new mode of working cooperatively with Wall. Nonetheless, he didn’t see eye-to-eye with Wall’s request to hire additional correctional officers to reduce overtime that is projected to cost $1.9 million in the current year. The department is capped at 854 officers, but only has 826 on staff. The department would like to draft a class of 65 candidates for training, of which about 40 to 50 would go on as officers, according to Joanne Hill of the department’s office of financial resources. She said some officers are working two eight-hour shifts and in some cases four shifts or 32 straight hours.

In addition to the costly treatments for hepatitis C, which Ferruccio told the committee is a “major concern for us,” he cautioned about retaining more officers. Citing the number of wardens and deputy wardens, he said the department is top-heavy in management.

“These are difficult economic times, and you have to look hard at this,” he said. He observed, “Once you hire them [additional officers] you have a very difficult time to get rid of them.”

According to Jessica Wapner, a freelance writer and author, in an article appearing in Scientific American, the cost of the drug has struck a nerve among insurers and other third-party payers. Brian Henry, a spokesperson at Express Scripts, which manages benefits for more than 3,500 companies, is quoted as saying, “We’ve never had such a high-cost drug for such a large population. Treatment for one hepatitis C patient now can take up a huge portion of a small business’s budget for drug spending.”

The treatment, sofosbuvir paired with ledipasvir, reportedly cured at least 94 percent of patients with genotype 1 disease, according to the article.