Op-Ed How to pay the bill for hepatitis C

"California...is helping to lead the way out of the hepatitis C conundrum with a sensible policy: Treat everyone who needs it, but not until treatment is necessary."

How long should you wait to treat a possibly fatal but curable disease?

That's a question with major implications for millions of patients and for insurers and government programs that have to pay for the treatment.

In the last year this question has focused on hepatitis C, a viral infection of the liver that, left untreated, can lead to cirrhosis, cancer, liver failure and death. Hepatitis C is the leading cause for liver transplants in the United States.

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Cost in the way of a cure for hepatitis C

Christopher Cummins, 42, believes he contracted hepatitis C through blood transfusions at birth. Last year, his insurance paid for a $100,000 treatment that eradicated the virus.

Dee’s liver is scarred, but just a bit too healthy for her insurance to foot the bill for the new medications that cure hepatitis C more than 90 percent of the time.

The Butler County resident, who suspects she got the virus getting a tattoo, was recently told by her doctor to come back in a year.

John, a retired small-business owner from Washington County who was given blood in the early 1990s, was also denied the antivirals. Now, as he watches a friend grow weak from liver cancer, he fears he’s glimpsing his future.

An appeal to a pharmaceutical company is Jennifer’s last shot at treatment after the insurance company denied her three times. The 34-year-old office manager – who said she gave up her heroin habit nine years ago – can barely make it through the workday because of fatigue. 

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