Sponsors (2)
The bill dramatically expands federally funded hepatitis C prevention, testing, and curative treatment access for many Americans through multi‑billion dollar investments and a coordinated national strategy, but it increases federal spending and imposes administrative and programmatic tradeoffs that may burden providers, constrain program flexibility, and leave some populations excluded.
People with hepatitis C (Medicaid enrollees, uninsured people, incarcerated individuals, Indian Health Service patients, and Medicare beneficiaries) will get substantially expanded access to curative hepatitis C drugs with little or no out‑of‑pocket costs, increasing treatment uptake and reducing long‑term complications.
People with hepatitis C nationwide will benefit from multi‑billion dollars in dedicated funding to procure treatments and support a stable, large‑scale elimination program that enables volume purchasing and program continuity.
People at higher risk of HCV (including underserved, tribal, rural, and correctional populations) will be reached through a coordinated national strategy with prioritized populations, public reporting (dashboard and annual reports), and stakeholder input to guide targeted outreach and services.
Taxpayers face several billion dollars in new federal outlays to fund procurement, grants, and program operations, which could increase deficit pressure or require offsets elsewhere.
States, local health agencies, correctional systems, and provider organizations will face added administrative complexity and compliance burdens — including eligibility verification for complex immigration categories, audits, data‑sharing, reporting, and subaward conditions — which could slow rollout and raise operating costs.
Safety‑net providers that depend on federal drug discount programs could lose discounts because the bill prohibits use of other federal discount mechanisms (including 340B) for covered hepatitis C drugs, reducing revenue or savings for some hospitals and clinics.
Based on analysis of 10 sections of legislative text.
Creates a federal Hepatitis C elimination program with subscription drug purchasing, free distribution to covered groups, state grants, and Part D cost-sharing elimination for DAAs (2027–2031).
Introduced June 4, 2025 by Bill Cassidy · Last progress June 4, 2025
Creates a federal Hepatitis C Elimination Program at HHS to buy hepatitis C direct-acting antivirals through a subscription-style purchasing agreement, distribute those medicines at no cost-sharing to specified eligible populations, and fund state and local efforts to expand screening, diagnosis, treatment, and related services. It also provides $4.283 billion (FY2025, through FY2031) for program activities, directs the elimination of Medicare Part D cost-sharing for hepatitis C DAAs for plan years 2027–2031, and gives HHS broad rulemaking, reporting, and oversight powers (including audits and a public dashboard).