USA-Lack of Insurance Bars Some from Hepatitis C Treatment

Survey data from 2001 to 2010 show that lack of insurance kept some people with hepatitis C virus from getting treatment.

Recently, more effective and well-tolerated drugs have been developed to treat hepatitis C, removing many of the discouraging side effects of older drugs. The infection is curable and transmission can be prevented, researchers write in the American Journal of Gastroenterology.

But for the more than three million people in the U.S. who have chronic liver disease from hepatitis C, there are still two important barriers to getting treatment, said lead author Dr. Ivo Ditah from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

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U.S.A-Programs Focus on Hepatitis C

“Chronic hepatitis C infection is a commonly silent disease that according to the Center of Disease Control affects an estimated 3.2 million Americans”.

 “For primary care providers looking to address hepatitis, the University of Wisconsin-Superior’s Continuing Education Department holds a program 4-9:30 p.m. March 17 at Barker’s Island Inn and Convention Center in Superior”. “The Wisconsin Department of Health Services estimates 74,000 people in Wisconsin are infected; 50 percent of them baby boomers.

The Institute of Medicine reports that up to 75 percent of those infected are unaware they are infected. Yet, with appropriate care, hepatitis C can be a curable infection”.

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