Health care reform could significantly affect insurance coverage for hepatitis patients (Photo Credit: Creative Commons)

Even after its Supreme Court ruling, the Affordable Care Act is still a subject of much heated debate across the nation. One major concern about the language in the Act is that a positive hepatitis C test may mean not getting insurance application approval. This is a serious issue for everyone but particularly for those with hepatitis.

People who test positive for hepatitis will have greater difficulties getting insurance coverage, or may be required to get alternative and more expensive insurance plans.

The rationale behind this is that hepatitis C is regarded as a pre-existing condition. With the new law, the concern of many is that it may allow insurance companies to deny coverage of treatment for all pre-existing conditions.

The Health Care Reform Law under President Obama mandates that insurance companies would not be able to reject people with pre-existing conditions, including hepatitis C by the year 2014.  But this mandate is still under debate and scrutiny.

Screening for hepatitis is the most basic means for individuals to go for preventive treatment. In the recent months, the CDC has embarked on serious campaigns for hepatitis testing for ALL at- risk persona as well as ALL baby boomers.   There is much evidence charting the serious consequences of  baby boomers, migrants, homeless persons and the uninsured as they suffer from advanced complications of hepatitis because they failed to get tested.

According to the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, about thirty percent of hepatitis C patients do not have insurance. The clause on pre-existing conditions is creating a lot of tension, especially among baby boomers who are torn between getting tested now as soon as possible or delaying tests until they get a reasonable insurance deal. The value of a healthy life should not dissuade people from getting tested but rather ENCOURAGE TESTING, and prevent a potentially more medically, financially and emotionally exhaustive condition.