It took years for Dara Dundon to realize that something was off with her health.

She felt lethargic, almost like she was getting the flu. But it wasn’t until she had hip replacement surgery in 2005 that a doctor discovered the cause: hepatitis C.

Untreated, hepatitis C can lead to liver disease, which is often deadly. So Dundon asked her doctor about a new drug, Harvoni, with cure rates above 90 percent in three months or less of treatment.

The only problem: She wasn't considered sick enough to be eligible for the breakthrough medication.

This fall she applied to get treatment for the fourth time. The response each time has been the same. She says her Medicaid provider couldn’t pay for the drug — which can cost nearly $100,000 for the full treatment — until her condition got worse.

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