Hepatitis C – Treatment Costs

Transcript

Hepatitis C treatment is costly without insurance coverage. Cost can run anywhere from 26 to $90,000, depending on the type of medication and length of treatment. This used to be a huge barrier for treatment, but thankfully, more and more insurance companies are covering hepatitis C treatment. This is all due to the ongoing advocacy by nonprofit organizations and local legislators. Hepatitis C treatment is not something your doctor can write a prescription for and send to a local pharmacy on the same day of your visit because it is a specialized medication. It has to go through what we call a prior authorization process, in which the medication has to be pre-approved by the insurance company before the medication can be sent to you. This prior authorization process has by far been the biggest challenge in getting people treated for hepatitis C, because despite the fact that many insurance companies are covering treatment, some of them are still unfortunately imposing unnecessary limitations on who can get treated from the medical community’s perspective. Anyone with hepatitis C infection should get treated. Sometimes your doctor may postpone the start of your treatment, If she or she has concerned that you might not be able to adhere to taking the medication on a daily basis. Otherwise there is no scientific reason why someone with hepatitis C should not get treatment for it.