Pamela Anderson says she used savings to fund early hepatitis C treatment
While accepting amfAR's Award of Courage in Venice, Pamela Anderson disclosed that she spent her personal savings on an early hepatitis C therapy that was not covered by insurance.
Pamela Anderson told reporters that she exhausted her bank account to afford an early hepatitis C medication that insurance plans had not yet reimbursed. She made the comments while receiving amfAR's Award of Courage at a ceremony in Venice.
Anderson said she was diagnosed with hepatitis C in the late 1990s, a time when no cure existed. > "Back in the late '90s, when I was diagnosed with hepatitis C, there was no cure," she said. She later claimed the infection was contracted through needle sharing with her former husband, Tommy Lee, a claim the musician has denied.
When a cure became available, Anderson said she was offered treatment in its early stage and had to pay the full cost herself. > "I was offered it in its early stages, and it took everything I had in my bank to pay for it. It wasn't covered by insurance yet," she explained. She completed a year-long FDA-approved regimen and announced she was hepatitis C-free in 2015.
Since then, Anderson has returned to acting, appearing in recent projects such as "The Last Showgirl" and "Place to Be," which premiered at the Venice Film Festival.