A. The answer is No. You could possibly get a Standard class approval when certain conditions are met.
There are about 170 million people worldwide who are infected with HCV (hepatitis C Virus), and the most common infection comes from exposure to blood that contains the virus. Many people who test positive for hep C have no idea how they contracted the virus and deny all risk factors for exposure. Of those exposed, up to 85% will develop a chronic infection. Among those who are chronically infected w/ hep C, after 10-20 years, about 20% will develop cirrhosis.
The risk assessment for hep C varies according to factors such as the time frame since the person was exposed, the lab testing—specifically liver function tests, whether a biopsy was performed, alcohol or drug use, and response to treatment. A detailed history is helpful and allows us to give the best possible idea of potential offer from the carriers.
With appropriate treatment, hepatitis C infection can be cured. Typically, treatment is going to be recommended for patients w/ more than 6 months of elevated liver function tests and RNA levels. The most common form of treatment is with interferon, which is injected and/or oral ribavirin. The response to treatment depends upon a number of factors, some of which include the extent of fibrosis seen on biopsy, the amount of hep c virus detected in the blood, and which of the six known genotypes of hep C that the applicant has.
Underwriting for hep C can be very involved and typically we’re looking at a minimum of a Table 4-6, although Standard approvals are possible in a very select few number of cases that demonstrate ideal scenarios. This is a big improvement over past history, where diagnosis of hep C was usually an auto-decline.