109th Congress

Hepatitis C Epidemic Control and Prevention Act

S. 521, H.R. 1290

Background

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is one of the leading causes of chronic liver disease in the United States. HCV is a leading cause of cirrhosis, liver cancer, and liver transplantation. Although the incidence of newly acquired hepatitis C infection has decreased in the United States, the majority of infections become chronic. Therefore, the prevalence of HCV is high, with more than 3 million Americans now estimated to be chronically infected.

In March 1998, the House Government Reform Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources held a hearing on hepatitis C activities and their coordination within the Public Health Service. In October, the Committee released a report entitled “Hepatitis C: Silent Epidemic, Mute Public Health Response,” which was critical of the Federal Government’s response to hepatitis C. Regarding the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the report stated that NIH has conducted a “sluggish and fragmented approach to research on HCV.”

Prior to the release of the report, NIH was involved in the establishment of interagency and inter-Institute working groups that stimulated enhanced collaborative activities and greater focus on acute research needs. Seven NIH Institutes and Centers currently have lead roles in hepatitis C research. NIH also convened consensus development conferences on the management of hepatitis C in 1997 and 2002. In addition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) developed recommendations for the prevention and control of HCV and HCV-related chronic disease in 1998 and the National Hepatitis C Prevention Strategy in 2001.

During the 108th Congress, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) and Representative Heather A. Wilson (R-NM) introduced the Hepatitis C Epidemic Control and Prevention Act. Senator Hutchison and Representative Wilson reintroduced these bills in the 109th Congress.

Provisions of the Legislation/Impact on NIH

S. 521 and H.R. 1290 would have amended the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish, promote, and support a comprehensive prevention, research, and medical management referral program for hepatitis C. The provisions of interest to NIH would have:

• Directed the Secretary of HHS, in consultation with the Directors of NIH and CDC, to develop and implement a plan for the prevention, control, and medical management of hepatitis C that included strategies for education and training, surveillance, and early detection and research. This plan would have been guided by existing recommendations from NIH and CDC regarding hepatitis C.
• Required the Director of NIH to create a Liver Disease Research Advisory Board that would have been required to develop a comprehensive plan for the conduct and support of liver disease research, which would have been known as the Liver Disease Research Action Plan

Status and Outlook

S. 521, a companion bill to H.R. 1290, was introduced by Senator Hutchison on March 3, 2005, and was referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. No further action occurred on this legislation during the 109th Congress.

H.R. 1290, a companion bill to S. 521, was introduced by Representative Wilson on March 14, 2005, and was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. No further action occurred on this legislation during the 109th Congress.