Thanks for being on top of this important info, it is so helpful to have someone like u getting into the nitty griddy of our cure. I'm waiting so it means a lot to me.
WE

I'll add this little anecdote. Because I'm newly diagnosed, I don't have much a relationship with my hepatologist yet. Frankly, I suspect he doesn't give a shit about my problems, and I think he suspects that I'm crazy.
Anyway...during our last visit, I was going through a long list of issues. I could see his eyes glazing over and he was retaining just enough consciousness to mumble dismissals of all my thoughts/fears/ideas.
Then I mentioned Simeprevir combined with Sofosbuvir,and he suddenly jerked awake and looked interested. "Yes..." he kind of mused to himself. "I was just talking about that with a colleague of mine. That has....interesting possibilities."
Then he looked off into the distance thoughtfully...and then back at me, clearly annoyed that I was still there.
Anyway...I think this filing is a really big thing if some doctors will get creative.
Oh, one more point - I saw a video panel of doctors recently who were talking about the filing being expected late in the year. Now it's been filed in March. I have no information to back this up, but I wouldn't be surprised if Janssen (?) moved up their filing so Simeprevir could be available in the short window when Sofosbuvir is on the market without the combo.
I know I can really ramble about these things...but this is big deal in my mind.
Thanks again for the TON of information you process here, Kramer.

My pleasure WE and happy that you find them of value! Quite a few of us are still waiting our turn! ..soon :^)

Thanks so much. Downtown.
There's plenty of time to change doctors, but I don't want to jump the gun. Sometimes a nice caring demeanor doesn't equal a good doctor, and vice versa. I just want to make sure my doctor wants to cure me as soon as possible...including getting creative with off-label possibilities...and will fight for me if my insurance company gives me trouble. If I know I'm good with those things, he can be act however he wants...
Thanks again - I'm glad you found this forum.

In this great land of the free (the U.S) health insurance co's spend more money advertising and fighting claims than they do on covering healthcare. People with serious illness who have health insurance get denied coverage and end up losing their homes. I'm not looking for an argument but I find it impossible to imagine that health insurance co's will pay for unapproved tx that they don't have to pay for out of the goodness of their hearts.

Perhaps with an enlightened doctor one could apply directly to the pharma co's for meds but I think it's likely pigs will fly before health insurance cover unapproved tx's But I've been wrong many times before.

Katanda I work in health insurance, and if a treatment is not approved the health insurance carrier will not pay for it.

Hey Kat - I don't take your comment as "looking for an argument," but it's worth discussing.
In general, I don't think insurance companies will pay for things out of the goodness or their hearts, but some are more upstanding than others, and either way, self-interest may motivate all of them to approve of some creativity.
For example, paying for an off-label treatment available this year may make more financial sense than risking the possibility of paying for a transplant later. Also, the off-label possibilities may be cheaper than the approved combos. The pricing on the future combos is speculative, but I'm sure the insurance companies have a good ballpark idea by now.
I saw reference to a study that indicated off-label treatment is fairly common in the cancer field, in spite of some insurance company crackdowns. I don't know...I'm not a health insurance expert...all I know is that two drugs - Sofosbuvir and Simeprevir - will be probably be available within 6-9 months now, and those two drugs have been combined for a very high success rate against genotype 1. Hard to ignore that, regardless of the obstacles ahead.

I agree and I know nothing. The combination indeed sounds promising but I'm a pessimist by nature with above-average contempt for health insurance companies.

Well, that's part of who I am anyway.

Slide, the only thing to do is wait until the drugs become available. Since the Affordable Care Act was passed, insurance carriers are looking at things a lot differently than they did before the ACA. What is for sure, the health premiums are a lot higher upon renewal and the people are getting less coverage for their $$. For all of us, since Hep is consider an epidemic now, I hope ever Hep drug that works for us is covered by the private carriers or the exchanges at 100%. Without going into major detail the sooner these mircale drugs get on the market the better for us all.