A bipartisan pair of House members are introducing legislation aimed at treating millions of Americans of a deadly-but-curable liver disease, the culmination of a yearslong push from public health advocates.
The bill, sponsored by Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa and Diana DeGette, D-Colo., would create a national hepatitis C elimination program to expand testing and treatment especially for people least likely to access it, including those who are incarcerated, uninsured, low-income, or receiving care through the Indian Health Service.
The legislation would also direct the federal government to enter into five-year subscription agreements with at least one drug manufacturer to purchase unlimited hepatitis C treatments at a fixed price. That could make a big difference in expanding access to the drug, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars per course of treatment.
“Hepatitis C is beatable. We have the tools to eliminate it, and this bill puts them within reach of the Americans who need them most,” Miller-Meeks said in a statement.
An estimated 2.2 million to 4 million adults in the U.S. have hepatitis C. Because the disease often has no early symptoms, only about half are aware they are infected.
