A recent report by the Centers for Disease Control found that Hepatitis C-related deaths are at an all-time high in the United States. As reported by the Washington Post, the report found that more Americans die from the disease than from 60 other infectious diseases combined. Approximately 3.5 million Americans are thought to have the disease, although many may be unaware due to the initial slow and silent damage it inflicts upon the liver.
The saddest part about this report is that the outcome is entirely unavoidable. Pharmaceutical companies have made significant breakthroughs in treatment of the disease in the last few years. New drugs, such as Sovaldi and Harvoni, have the potential to cure the disease in as little as twelve weeks. Yet many still go untreated due to the cost of those drugs and health insurers’ unwillingness to cover the treatment.
How sick does one need to be to qualify for coverage for Sovaldi or Harvoni? Some insurance companies have essentially drawn an arbitrary line in the sand, making it so that those infected need to have already suffered severe liver damage before the curative treatment is approved. Such policies result in needless suffering and approval often comes too late to reverse the devastating effects of the Hepatitis C virus.
At DeBofsky, Sherman & Casciari, we have successfully fought health insurer’ denials of Sovaldi and Harvoni coverage for our clients, allowing them to receive this life-saving treatment before re extensive liver damage occurs. No one should have to wait until a disease does extensive damage to their body in order to qualify for the cure. Call us today for a free evaluation if you’ve been denied coverage by your health insurance company for Hepatitis C treatment.
