Sponsors (7)
This bill directs large federal resources and a coordinated national effort to expand hepatitis C testing and provide largely no‑cost curative treatment—especially for Medicare beneficiaries, uninsured people, incarcerated individuals, and tribal populations—while creating significant federal spending, administrative and participation challenges, limits on other drug‑discount mechanisms, and legal constraints that may limit some harm‑reduction approaches.
Uninsured people, Medicaid beneficiaries, Medicare beneficiaries, incarcerated individuals, and patients served by Indian health programs will have access to FDA‑approved direct‑acting antivirals with no cost‑sharing (for covered populations and for Medicare beneficiaries during 2028–2032), removing financial barriers to curative hepatitis C treatment.
People at risk of or living with hepatitis C and public health officials will benefit from a coordinated federal elimination strategy, including a 180‑day implementation plan, interagency coordination, priority population identification, and a public performance dashboard to guide and track progress.
People with hepatitis C and public health programs will gain substantially expanded federal funding (multi‑billion dollar appropriations and program grants) to increase prevention, testing, treatment, and elimination activities across settings.
Taxpayers and federal budget planners will face substantial new federal spending (multi‑billion appropriations plus anticipated Medicare cost increases), raising concerns about budgetary trade‑offs, deficits, and opportunity costs for other programs.
People eligible for free centrally procured drugs may be left out if their state, local correctional system, or program does not opt in (or delays participation), producing uneven access across states and jurisdictions.
Hospitals, pharmacies, and health systems that rely on other federal discount programs could lose purchasing flexibility because the Act prohibits using programs like 340B for hepatitis C drugs and alters Medicaid best‑price/AMP calculations, potentially shifting costs or changing manufacturer pricing behavior.
Based on analysis of 9 sections of legislative text.
Creates an HHS hepatitis C elimination program, buys DAAs via federal subscription to provide no‑cost treatment to covered populations, funds state grants, and removes Medicare Part D cost‑sharing 2028–2032.
Official title: To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out activities to eliminate hepatitis C virus in the United States.
Introduced July 14, 2026 by Mariannette Miller-Meeks · Last progress July 14, 2026
Creates a new HHS Hepatitis C Elimination Program to coordinate a national strategy, fund state and local activities, and buy hepatitis C direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) through a federal subscription purchase program to provide treatment without cost‑sharing to defined covered populations. The bill funds grants to States and providers, removes Medicare Part D cost‑sharing for DAAs for 2028–2032, and provides a multi‑year appropriation to implement these activities. The Act requires HHS to issue a national strategy and public dashboard, form advisory and interagency groups, award grants and contracts for screening/treatment/wraparound services, establish a voluntary option for correctional systems to participate, prohibit other federal drug discount program use for DAAs obtained through this program, and authorizes rulemaking and reporting requirements. It appropriates $4.283 billion for FY2027 (available through FY2033) and transfers $25 million to the Bureau of Prisons for implementation costs.