(Reuters) — The nation’s largest pharmacy benefit manager has lined up a cheaper price from AbbVie Inc. on its newly approved hepatitis C treatment and, in most cases, will no longer cover Gilead Sciences Inc.

“Whenever there’s introduction of a needle into the body, we think about potential safety concerns,” said Dr. Robert Hall, Westerville, Ohio-based medical director at pharmacy benefit manager Helios.

Warnings by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration could lead state workers compensation systems and payers to tighten treatment guidelines for epidural steroid injections.

A federal lawsuit alleging price gouging by the maker of hepatitis C drug Sovaldi mirrors a growing struggle to contain hepatitis C-related workers compensation prescription costs that can reach up to $150,000 per claimant.

An award of more than 23 years of workers compensation benefits to the widow of an Ohio demolition worker who died only hours after his workplace injury has lawyers and employers weighing the Ohio appellate court ruling’s fallout.