question for a friend (really)

[Mary4now]

My girlfriend as in I'm a woman and I have a friend of many moons., anway she had hep c, was treated 5 yrs ago, she was G2,  - SVR'd.   Recently she applied for life insurance, was denied because they told her she has active hep C.  She had more labs because she was told she was cured.  Now the labs show less than 10, but she is hep C reactive.  
What do you think this means?  does she still have the virus?
thx. M4now

[Isobella]

----Welllll...I'm not sure their intent is to right all the evils of the Hep C world at once--

LOL!  Dreamin' big, baby!!!!

[Trish77]

Welllll...I'm not sure their intent is to right all the evils of the Hep C world at once and I think the focus they're taking in that particular initiative is narrow to a particular aspect of proper supports through treating HCV...however, if the opportunity arises to address that in some way, I'll keep it tucked in the back of my head. :)

That just might be something that CAN be addressed in other ways though it might take some advocacy on the part of Hep C organizations that represent heppers themselves with the support of doctors or supporting documentation from doctors rather than doctors driving it.  Just a thought.

[Isobella]

The mind is such a powerful thing.....it is a shame she is having to deal with this.  

We can all relate to that anxiety.  After txing, thinking we are done.  SVR is ours.  Then getting a letter of denial from an insurance company.  

Our confidence gets a little shaky everytime we have to wait for labs, confirmation of our health.  

Trish-maybe you could add this to the list of things to tell the the docs you are working with.  If the doctors and medical personnel arent informed, why would insurance companies be....the reprecussions of this diagnosis can impact our insurability for life.

Mary--please let us know how this works out for your friend.  I wish her the best =)

Isobella

[Mary4now]

Thanks for your help, I have emailed her your feedback, I'm sure that will make her feel better, she is pretty confident that shes OK, but I think its always lurking in the back of her mind.  As a matter of fact when she got the insurance. she said she noticed a pain in her right side.
Psychosomatic....

[Trish77]

I work AT but not FOR a global financial company and asked one of the underwriters there a generic question... if people recovered from an illness and were considered cured, does this change their status with regards to insurability and she said "it depends...take Hep C for example" .. that was with her not knowing that I had Hep C at the time and her response was that as more about Hep C becomes known, the insurance eligibility is changing.  Within her current experience, a history of active Hep C was not considered a complete writeoff in and of itself.  I hope to have an SVR in hand to test those waters with at that very company.

Trish

[copyman]

I doubt she can get insurance as long as the tests show antibodies. Most insurance co's consider antibodies the same as having "active" HCV. I just discussed this with a friend that has a very large Ins agency. I asked him about getting a letter from a doctor and he laughed and said even a letter from the President or Pope and still none of the several companies he writes for would insure me.

[jmjm530]

No, she does not have the virus, and therefore does not have "active hepatitis C". The insurance company is wrong.

Hep C reactive is not the same as having active hep c and  simply means your friend still carries the antibodies for Hep C which is usually the case even if you are SVR (cured).

Hopefully, a note from a liver specialist (hepatologist) or an experienced Gastro will straighten the insurance problem out. The average family doctor -- and even some GIs -- are problem as clueless as the insurance company appears to be.

-- Jim