BILL NUMBER: S2124

SPONSOR: RIVERA
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to hepatitis C
screening testing

 
PURPOSE:

To expand eligibility for the required offering of hepatitis C screening
in hospitals to include individuals born between nineteen hundred and
eighty and two thousand.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one of the bill adds a new § 2171-A to the public health law to
include individuals born between the years nineteen hundred and eighty
and two thousand who receive health services from a general hospital,
outpatient department, licensed diagnostic and treatment center, or
directly from a physician, physician's assistant or nurse practitioner
              

to be deemed eligible to receive the required offering of the hepatitis
c screening test or hepatitis c diagnostic test.

Section two of the bill establishes the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Hepatitis C is a viral infection known to cause liver inflammation,
which may lead to liver damage, cirrhosis, liver cancer, liver failure,
and death. The virus can cause a short-term (acute) illness character-
ized by fever, nausea, abdominal pain, malaise, and jaundice; however,
these acute infections often do not cause any symptoms. Nationally, the
CDC estimates that 2.4 million Americans are infected with HCV, with
half of the carriers unaware of their status. Among those diagnosed with
chronic HCV, 60-70% will develop chronic liver disease, 5-20% will
develop cirrhosis of the liver, while 1-5% will die due to cirrhosis or
liver cancer.

According to the 2017 New York State Department of Health Hepatitis B
and C Annual Report, of the 8,280 cases of Hepatitis C reported in New
York State (non-inclusive of NYC) in 2017, both the largest number of
cases and the highest case rates were observed among persons between the
ages of 20-39 (48.6%). The upsurge observed in Hepatitis C diagnosis
among young adults are identified as a direct result of the current
opioid and intravenous drug use crisis. The two most commonly reported
risk factors for chronic Hepatitis C cases in 2017 were participation in
injection drug use and non-injection drug use. In 2016, approximately
67% of all emergency department visits and hospital discharges involving
opioid use were among individuals between the ages of 18-44, while 58%
of opioid-related overdose deaths involved the same age population.

Diagnostic testing is a critical tool utilized to identify the presence
of disease within an individual and is proven to increase participation
rates among those diagnosed with HCV in active treatment. Therefore, by
virtue of the increased prevalence of opioid use and subsequent Hepati-
tis C diagnosis among young adults between the ages of 20-40, it is
critical to mandate this population be presented with the opportunity

for screening and testing services, while engaged in otherwise routine
medical appointments.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2019-2020: S7328/No Same-As

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.