5 Best Resources That Can Help You Afford Hepatitis C Treatment in 2025
Hepatitis CTreating and Curing Hep C

5 Best Resources That Can Help You Afford Hepatitis C Treatment in 2025

5 Best Resources That Can Help You Afford Hepatitis C Treatment in 2025
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Updated on October 22, 2025
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The direct-acting antivirals (DAA) for hepatitis C are almost 100 percent effective at curing the infection. Yet only about 1 in 3 people are treated with it in the first year after diagnosis.

One major barrier to treating hepatitis C is the cost of the medication. Currently, DAAs can cost about $25,000 a month, with treatment often requiring two to three months.

 Private insurance may cover some of these costs, but Medicaid and Medicare typically do not provide coverage.

If you have hepatitis C and need help paying for medication, several resources are available. Here’s what you need to know.

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Aracelis
Cured of hepatitis C in 2016
“Don’t wait... Do it for yourself. Change doctors if they are not good. Find the resources if nobody's bringing them to you.”
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Financial Resources Available to People With Hepatitis C

Some organizations can help you afford hepatitis C treatment if insurance doesn’t cover it:

Pharmaceutical Programs

Even with insurance, the copay or deductible for hepatitis C medication may be prohibitively high. Pharmaceutical companies offer copay assistance programs to reduce these costs for people who qualify. The companies also provide medications free of charge to lower-income individuals who are uninsured or underinsured and do not receive support from Medicaid or Medicare.

To find out more about program specifics, speak to your healthcare provider or insurance carrier. You can also contact the pharmaceutical companies directly. Here are some companies’ patient assistance programs and the brand names of the drugs they cover:

To apply for drug assistance programs, you may be asked for information such as your annual household income, the number of people who live in your household, and the type of health insurance you have (if any), among other questions.

The American Liver Foundation

The American Liver Foundation is a nonprofit organization that provides education, promotes advocacy, and offers assistance to people and caregivers affected by liver disease. The organization provides a free downloadable resource support guide that can help you find financial assistance.

NeedyMeds

NeedyMeds is a nonprofit dedicated to improving access to affordable healthcare for people who need it. Through their program database, the organization provides information about dozens of assistance programs that can help with medication costs, health insurance premiums, travel costs, and other expenses.

It also offers a free drug discount card, which can be used to purchase prescription medications, over-the-counter medications, and medical supplies. The website features a database to locate free and low-cost medical clinics by ZIP code.

Help-4-Hep

Help-4-Hep is a free helpline for people with hepatitis C that’s staffed by peer counselors, who can help you find financial resources for treatment and information about doctors and support groups. The lines are open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (closed on legal holidays). Call 877-HELP-4-HEP (877-435-7443).

The Assistance Fund

The Assistance Fund is a nonprofit organization that helps people who are facing high out-of-pocket medical expenses, including hepatitis C costs. The organization provides financial assistance for coinsurance, copays, deductibles, and other health-related expenses.

You can apply for hepatitis C funding on their website or, if the spots fill up, submit a request to be placed on the waiting list. The waiting list expires at the end of each calendar year, so you must reapply at the beginning of every year.

Stay the Course: Find Coverage for Hepatitis C Medication

The cost of treating hepatitis C has gone down in recent years, but there’s still a long way to go before it’s affordable.

“What came with this incredibly easy, short, extraordinarily effective regimen was a really high cost,” says Sherilyn C. Brinkley, CRNP, an infectious diseases patient care provider at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. “We’ve had to really struggle with access to drugs. ... Many are still not able to get treated because of the cost, and that’s a frustrating element of this whole process.”

For example, your doctor may need to obtain prior authorization from your insurance company before they can start treatment, which can delay treatment by several days to weeks, she says. Some plans also require you to wait at least six months to confirm that the hepatitis C is chronic, which also pushes treatment back.

The barriers for those with insurance through the government can be even more daunting. People on Medicare and Medicaid are 38 percent and 46 percent less likely to receive timely hepatitis C treatment, respectively, than those with private insurance.

Regardless of the hurdles, it’s important to be treated as soon as possible, because the cost of not treating hepatitis C can be much higher than the price of the medication.

Money is saved when “preventing somebody from getting liver cancer or a liver transplant or the disability associated with chronic hepatitis C,” says Joseph Galati, MD, medical director of the Center for Liver Disease & Transplantation at Houston Methodist Hospital.

“Whatever the cost for treatment is,” he says, “it’s a drop in the bucket when you look years down the line, as far as the potential cost of living with hepatitis C.”

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Resources
  1. Thompson WW et al. Vital Signs: Hepatitis C Treatment Among Insured Adults — United States, 2019-2020. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. August 12, 2022.
  2. Questions About the Cost of Epclusa? We’re Here to Help. Epclusa. 2023.
  3. Support for Patients With Hepatitis C. American Liver Foundation.
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