• What Is Hepatitis B?

• 
  What Is Hepatitis B?
  • Hepatitis B Facts and Figures
  • Hepatitis B Symptoms
  • Acute vs. Chronic Hepatitis B
• The ABCs of Viral Hepatitis
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  Liver Cancer and Hepatitis B
  • Liver Cancer Awareness Month
  • Liver Cancer Awareness Month Media Toolkit
• Hepatitis Delta Coinfection
• Hepatitis C Coinfection
• HIV/AIDS Coinfection
• 
  Frequently Asked Questions about Hepatitis B
  • What is hepatitis B?
  • Why is hepatitis B so dangerous?
  • Is there a cure for hepatitis B?
  • What treatments (medicines) are available for chronic hepatitis B?
  • If the currently approved hepatitis B drugs do not provide a cure, then how are they helping?
  • What can I do if I live in the U.S. and the insurance co-pay for my hepatitis B drugs costs too much for me to buy them?
  • Is there any special diet for people living with chronic hepatitis B infection?
  • What blood tests are important to diagnose and evaluate my hepatitis B infection?
  • Does everyone with chronic hepatitis B need to take medicine?
  • Will herbals, natural “remedies”, Ayurveda or Traditional Chinese Medicine, supplements, or vitamins and minerals control hepatitis B?
  • If I don’t need to take medicine for my hepatitis B at this time, what must I do to support my liver?
  • Can a hepatitis B infection be prevented? How can I protect my loved ones?
  • Is the hepatitis B vaccine safe?
  • Is the hepatitis B vaccine safe during pregnancy?
  • Can I catch hepatitis B from the vaccine?
  • If I started the vaccine series but didn't complete my 2nd or 3rd dose on schedule, do I have to start over?
  • I received my vaccine years ago--am I still protected?
  • Should I get the hepatitis B vaccine if I have a chronic HBV infection or have recovered from a past infection?
  • Where can I get vaccinated against hepatitis B in the USA?
  • What should I do if I am diagnosed with chronic hepatitis B?
  • I am diagnosed with chronic hepatitis B, can I get married and have children?
  • I am currently pregnant, and I have chronic hepatitis B. What should I do to protect my baby?
  • Can I donate blood if I have hepatitis B?
  • If I have chronic hepatitis B infection, can I hug my children, partner or friend?
  • I’m in love, when and how do I tell my (prospective) partner that I have hepatitis B?
  • If hepatitis B is sexually transmitted, how come my partner isn’t infected?
  • If chronic hepatitis B is a silent disease, why do I have symptoms?
  • Sometimes I feel sad and depressed because of my hepatitis B status, what should I do?
  • What is the likelihood that someone infected with hepatitis B will develop liver cancer?
  • I’m living with hepatitis B, what should I do to reduce my risk of developing liver cancer?
  • My country does not have a clinical trial for hepatitis B. Is it possible to travel to another country to participate?
  • I keep hearing about a “Functional Cure” for chronic hepatitis B, what does this mean?

What can I do if I live in the U.S. and the insurance co-pay for my hepatitis B drugs costs too much for me to buy them?

While health insurance plans can’t openly reject people with hepatitis B, some have created a way to keep people from buying their policies. They have done this by dramatically increasing out-of-pocket costs for consumers. This deliberately makes their health plans unaffordable for people with hepatitis B, who may have to pay as much as 50% of the cost of their medication despite having insurance. Read our HepB Blog for more information about this issue.  

The Hepatitis B Foundation (HBF) has also created a comprehensive report to help consumers identify factors to consider when choosing a health insurance plan and trends that may increase a person’s out-of-pocket treatment costs. Read the report here. You may also want to consult our webpage that discusses possible actions to take if someone is facing discriminatory practices by health insurance companies.

Learn more about how to research drug prices on the healthcare marketplace (www.healthcare.gov). Download a free template to file a complaint with your state’s Bureau of Insurance and the U.S. Health and Human Services’ Civil Rights Office about health plan over-pricing of the hepatitis B antivirals [Vemlidy (tenofovir alafenamide (TAF)), Viread (tenofovir disoproxil (TDF)) and generic entecavir]. Read our instructions here.

You can also check our page on “Medication Assistance Programs in the U.S.” that lists several sources of medication assistance through online pharmacies and patient support programs by some pharmaceutical companies. Most programs have eligibility criteria to benefit from them, so please check those criteria to see if you are eligible to enroll.  Some may find that prices available with online pharmacies are cheaper than using insurance.