The Viral Hepatitis and Liver Cancer Prevention and Control Act

The Silent Epidemic

Hepatitis viruses are highly contagious viruses that infect the liver, causing liver disease, liver cancer, and premature death.

Roughly 2 billion people worldwide have been infected with hepatitis B, more than 170 million people are chronically infected with hepatitis C, and in this nation alone, an estimated 5.3 million people are infected with either hepatitis B or hepatitis C. Left untreated, hepatitis can cause liver disease, liver cancer and premature death decades after infection. Tragically, approximately two thirds of those infected are unaware of their status.

It is no surprise, then, that some are calling this a silent crisis. Each year, approximately 15,000 people die from liver cancer or liver diseases related to hepatitis B and hepatitis C. That’s more than 40 Americans dying every day, with no state or Congressional district in our nation exempt from its deadly reach.

Beyond the tragic and preventable loss of human life and its subsequent hit to our country’s productivity, the costs to our country are explicitly economic as well. Without effective prevention and vaccination methods in place, chronic hepatitis B and C are expected to cost our country at least $20 billion in treatments alone over the next 10 years. As a result, over the same time frame, commercial and Medicare costs will more than double. Projecting further out, over the next 20 years, total medical costs for patients with hepatitis C infection are expected to increase more than 2.5 times from $30 billion to more than $85 billion.

What the Legislation Does

I introduced H.R. 3974 in the 111^th to put in place a coordinated federal response to fight viral hepatitis. The bill authorizes the prevention, immunization, screening, education, and treatment programs to meet the need in our communities. Through this legislation and with strategic investments in public health and prevention programs, billions of dollars can be saved and the lives of tens of thousands of people in your state can be improved. I am currently working in the 112^th Congress to reintroduce the bill.