The controversy over the new crop of hepatitis C treatments has taken yet another turn as consumers are starting to file lawsuits against insurers that deny them access to the medicines. Over the past two weeks, two different women alleged that Anthem Blue Cross refused to pay for the Harvoni treatment sold by Gilead Sciences because it was not deemed “medically necessary.”

The issue emerges after more than a year of debate over the cost of the medicines and complaints by public and private payers that the treatments have...