You can write
your representitives in Congress
and request reform to the Social Security available to
HCV victims
What to do:
1)
Copy
the letter below,
2) Type
your zip code into the box below and click the "go"
button.
3) When
you get to the Congress.org site, Paste the contents
of the letter into your representative(s) blank e-mail
page. You may ersonalize it if you want.
4) Sign
it and send. That's all there is to it. |
As my representative, you should know liver
disease is one of the major killers in America today.
Hepatitis C alone has been called a "silent
epidemic" by former surgeon general Everett Koop,
MD and it is estimated that as many as 4 million Americans
are infected.
The death rate due to complications from
this disease is expected to quadruple in the next 10 years.
There is no approved cure and current treatment
has an inadequate success rate, even by physician standards
(while often causing debilitating side effects).
Hepatitis is the number one cause for liver
transplants and those numbers are rising exponentially.
A study presented at the American Association
for the Study of Liver Diseases meeting on Tuesday November
9, 1999 concluded that long-term damage from hepatitis
C infections may cost the U.S. economy more than $81 billion
by 2019.
The study, by researchers from the New England
Medical Center and Tufts University School of Medicine,
looked at what costs can be expected in the ten years
from 2010 to 2019 as a result of the long-term effects
of hepatitis C infections.
It found that the medical costs of treating
such liver damage as cirrhosis and cancer would total
at least $10.3 billion in those ten years. The study used
a computer model to estimate the level of disease and
death expected in the same time period (2010-2019) from
existing and future infections.
Most people infected by the virus do not
notice any symptoms until serious liver damage starts
20 years or so later, although testing can detect the
infection and lead to early treatment.
Productivity lost to the work force from
hepatitis C complications and death would equal another
$71.5 billion, the researchers, led by Dr John Wong, said.
There should be more consideration for speedier approval
of claims by liver disease patients. They are often debilitated
to the degree they can no longer work or hold a job.
"Our results suggest that hepatitis
C will be an awakening health issue that should be addressed
now," Wong said in his paper.
I am requesting that you investigate this
important area of public health and sponsor or co-sponsor
legislation to speed up the approval process for individual
claims by the Social Security Administration in regard
to this issue.
Thank you for your attention and consideration
in this serious matter.
Sincerely,
