only been a year, now what do i do? no health insurance, want to start medicine.

[vcusell]

i found out about 16months ago that i had hep c, i was an iv drug user for only about 7 months and i know i contracted it in that 7 month period. now i have a year clean and sober and see that many people have actually gotten rid of their hepatitis. i would like to be able to see a doctor and start treatments and try and do the same the only thing is i do not have health insurance at the moment. i am going to apply for palm  beach county health care district which gives health insurance to low income people, but if that doesnt work for me does anyone know what i can do? and exactly which kind of doctor am i suppost to see about this. i really have no clue.. can someone steer me in the right direction please?? thank you all.

[vcusell]

hey thank you all very much. Also i know i was tested for hiv, im not sure about hepatitis b but i believe i was. 2 months before i got clean i found out i was pregnant, they did all the necessary blood work they do when you pregnant and that was when i found out about the hep c. unfortunately that pregnancy ended in miscarriage but a doctor i had seen a few months ago did some blood work to check my liver and he said it looked good but one of the number were high due to the hep c. i dont know which ones maybe it was some liver count or something? im not sure, but anyways thank you all very much for your answers, now i have some sort of direction to take into getting this taken care of! best of luck to everyone! :)

[can-do-man]

It seems you have a pretty good ideal when you were infected, and being your still very young you likely have none or very little damage. Since allot of people are infected 30 plus years before any major problems arise, time is on your side... Theres even a very real chance a doctor would suggest you wait for better treatment in a few years. Which would give you plenty of time to get things put together, time does seem to be on your side... Best to you.

[HectorSF]

Glad to hear you have changed your lifestyle. Using IV drugs for 7 months provides many opportunities to be exposed to hepatitis C. And the exchange of blood is the most efficient way of transmission of the virus.

I trust you have also been tested for hepatitis B and HIV?

The "Coordinated Care Program" is the proper program to apply to for uninsured Palm Beach residents. Benefits may include access to comprehensive health care services that consist of routine preventive care and specialty physician services, inpatient hospital care, outpatient surgery, prescription drugs, diagnostic services and more.

"When applying for the Coordinated Care program, information documenting proof of residency, assets and identification are required.  Household income must be documented at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Level - $16,755 for an individual; $34,575 for a family of four.  Eligibility representatives are available to offer assistance in completing an application and fulfilling the documentation requirements.

Residents who are potentially eligible for Medicaid should apply and receive a denial before submitting an application for the Coordinated Care program.  Residents who receive Medicare parts A and B benefit are not eligible for Coordinated Care.  Medicare recipients who are in need of prescription drug benefits should apply for Medicare Part D."

Customer Service staff are available by phone at [phone] during normal business hours.

Here is a link to the Application Instructions.
http://www.hcdpbc.org/index.aspx?page=60

Eligibility Offices

West Palm Beach
1150 45th Street
West Palm Beach, FL 33407
Ph: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

Delray Beach
225 South Congress Ave.
Delray Beach, FL 33445
Ph: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

Lantana
1250 Southwinds Drive
Lantana, FL 33462
Ph: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

Belle Glade
1201 NW Avenue L,
Belle Glade, FL 33430
Ph: [phone]/53
Fax: [phone]
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You should see a Gastroenterologist (a doctor who specializes in diseases and conditions of the digestive system. Make sure that they are experienced in treating hepatitis C and are knowledgeable and experienced with the latest hepatitis C treatments.

Good luck to you!

Hector