Treatment costs for hepatitis C can add up quickly. Here’s what to expect and how to find savings.
Hepatitis C is a viral infection that affects your liver. It leads to inflammation and can cause complications such as cirrhosis, liver damage, and liver cancer.
Treatment for hepatitis C can reduce your viral load to produce a sustained virologic response. This means the virus is not detectable in a blood test taken 3 months after you’ve completed treatment. At that point, your hepatitis C is considered cured.
While it’s possible to cure the infection, hepatitis C treatment comes at a price. It can go on for 8 to 24 weeks or longer and cost thousands of dollars.
In fact, the drug sofosbuvir — which is commonly used with other antivirals to treat hepatitis C — has a
Private health insurance and federal programs such as Medicaid and Medicare can help offset some of the cost, but they don’t pay all of it. Some insurance companies may even refuse to pay for certain treatments.
If you need help with hepatitis C expenses, here’s what you can do to manage the high costs.
Some people might receive a medical bill and pay it without questioning the charges. But medical billing errors are common, so it’s important to thoroughly review these bills for accuracy.
Some medical bills are also vague and don’t provide much information.
They’ll include the total amount you owe but might not provide details about specific medications, tests, and other services. This lack of transparency can be confusing because you could unknowingly pay more than you actually owe.
It’s always best practice to ask for an itemized breakdown of your medical charges. That way, you can see exactly what the healthcare professional or facility charges for each individual service.
Getting an itemized bill is an important step to verify that you haven’t accidentally been billed twice for a test, medication, or service.
You may also find charges for services you never received or get charged for a service due to an incorrect billing code. Always speak up and ask about any charges you don’t understand.
One final note: Check to make sure your insurance company has finished paying its part of the bill (if applicable). Sometimes insurance payments can be delayed, which makes it even more confusing to figure out what’s left to pay.
The cost of hepatitis C treatment adds up quickly. In addition to medications, you may need to pay for:
Plus, if you experience complications, such as liver damage, you may need a liver transplant.
So, what do you do when you receive a medical bill you can’t afford? If you don’t have the resources to pay expenses related to hepatitis C treatment, you have a few options.
1. Make a payment plan
Many doctors and healthcare facilities offer payment plans for medical bills. You can work out a payment schedule with the facility’s billing department, and they’ll often break up your balance into small, manageable payments.
Typically, you’ll pay no interest when you set up a payment plan. Your minimum payment will depend on how much you owe and the length of the payment term.
The downside of a payment plan is that some healthcare facilities don’t offer extended terms, so you might have to pay the full balance over 6 to 12 months. This can result in high monthly payments, depending on how much you owe.
2. Credit cards
Some healthcare professionals and facilities don’t accept payment plans. In this situation, you may be tempted to use a personal credit card.
If you do, try to use a card with a low interest rate — ideally zero. And use a credit card only if you can pay off the balance within a few months.
Another option is to apply for a medical credit card, which can be used only to pay eligible medical and dental expenses. These cards often have an introductory interest-free period of 6 to 12 months. This is an option if you’ll be able to pay off the balance within that time frame.
3. Negotiate your costs
If you can’t afford your hepatitis C treatment, you may be able to work directly with the healthcare facility to negotiate your costs. Some might forgive a percentage of your bill if you pay the lower amount in one lump sum.
You can also work with a medical bill advocate who will negotiate charges on your behalf. These individuals know medical billing codes and the average cost of certain procedures. They’re also trained to recognize errors as they comb through your medical bills.
You can find a medical bill advocate by searching through a website such as the Umbra Health Advocacy directory.
4. Apply for a personal loan
Applying for a personal loan allows you to consolidate all your medical expenses into one bill. Personal loans for medical expenses can be as low as $1,000 or as high as thousands of dollars.
Before getting a loan, it’s a good idea to shop around and get quotes from at least three financial institutions. You’ll want to compare:
- rates
- loan fees
- repayment terms
A personal loan may help if you have good enough credit to get a low interest rate and an affordable monthly payment.
5. Ask about a subscription model
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Some states, including Louisiana and Washington, have subscription models for hepatitis C treatment. Your primary care doctor can provide you with information about subscription model availability in your state.
Sometimes you can incur debt when receiving treatment for hepatitis C and other conditions. In fact, high medical bills cause many people to file personal bankruptcy.
However, there are several ways you can protect your finances to avoid this.
1. Stay within your insurer’s network
Using doctors, labs, pharmacies, and other medical facilities outside your insurance provider’s network will result in higher charges for services.
If your health insurance is a Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) or Health Maintenance Organization (HMO), confirm that doctors and facilities are in-network before scheduling appointments.
2. Understand your plan benefits
Your health insurance provider may not cover all your expenses. You may be able to avoid unexpected costs by becoming familiar with your plan’s benefits and planning ahead, including for copays and deductibles.
Talk with your insurance provider to understand which hepatitis C medications your plan covers and doesn’t cover. You can then share this information with your doctor when discussing cost-effective treatments.
3. Set up a health savings account (HSA)
You may be able to open an HSA if you have a high deductible health plan (or at least you may be able to use a flexible spending account). You and your employer can both contribute money to an HSA.
Money deposited into an HSA will grow tax-free, and you can withdraw money from the account tax-free to pay for qualified medical expenses such as:
- deductibles
- coinsurance
- copayments
However, you usually cannot use HSA funds to pay premiums.
4. Ask about generic medications
Ask your doctor about generic hepatitis C medications such as direct-acting agents.
5. Compare costs
Costs for services, procedures, and tests can vary from facility to facility.
Another way to save money is to contact multiple facilities in your insurer’s network and ask about costs for specific services. You can then try to schedule visits, procedures, and tests with facilities that charge less.
6. Look into patient assistance programs
You may want to consider looking into different types of patient assistance programs.
These programs are typically sponsored by drug companies and help provide eligible individuals with access to treatments at little or no cost. Nonprofit organizations may also offer help to pay for some treatment expenses.
For example, the American Liver Foundation has a list of assistance programs that can help with the cost of hepatitis C treatment.
Hepatitis C treatments can reduce your viral load and put you into remission. But hepatitis C treatment can also be costly, and some people experience financial hardship when paying for it.
Being proactive can help you manage these expenses. For example, you can review your medical bills, look into alternative payment solutions, and compare costs to save money.