Amendment #966 to H4000

Hepatitis C Program

Representatives Benson of Lunenburg, Nangle of Lowell, Basile of Boston, Garballey of Arlington, Finn of West Springfield, Galvin of Canton, O'Day of West Boylston, Hogan of Stow, Moran of Lawrence, Donahue of Worcester, Garlick of Needham, Madden of Nantucket, Cullinane of Boston, Decker of Cambridge, Rogers of Norwood, Linsky of Natick, Mahoney of Worcester, Kaufman of Lexington, Ayers of Quincy, Campbell of Methuen, Keenan of Salem, Koczera of New Bedford and Brodeur of Melrose moves to amend the bill by striking out SECTION 44 and inserting in place thereof the following section:

SECTION 44 Chapter 111 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out 4M and inserting in place thereof the following 2 sections:

Section 4M. Subject to appropriation, the department shall:

(1) conduct a needs assessment to determine the incidence and prevalence of hepatitis B virus, and hepatitis C virus in the commonwealth;

(2) develop and implement a program to prevent further transmission of viral hepatitis and to prevent onset of chronic liver disease caused by viral hepatitis;

(3) develop and implement a statewide public education and community outreach program to raise awareness and promote prevention of viral hepatitis;

(4) develop or approve evidence-based educational materials on the risks, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of viral hepatitis; provided that, the materials shall be made available in written and electronic form and shall be targeted to physicians and other health care providers and high-risk populations subject to an increased risk of contracting viral hepatitis as determined by the department;

(5) support the establishment and maintenance of a chronic and acute hepatitis B and hepatitis C surveillance program, in order to identify: (i) trends in the incidence of acute and chronic hepatitis B and acute and chronic hepatitis C, (ii) trends in the prevalence of acute and chronic hepatitis B and acute and chronic hepatitis C infection among groups that may be disproportionately affected, and (iii) trends in liver cancer and end-stage liver disease incidence and deaths caused by chronic hepatitis B and chronic hepatitis C in high-risk populations; and

(6) annually report on the department’s viral hepatitis education, awareness and prevention education and community outreach efforts to the joint committee on public health on or before January 1.

Section 4M 1/2.  Every individual born between the years of nineteen hundred forty five and nineteen hundred sixty five who receives health care services from a primary care provider as defined in Chapter 224 of the Massachusetts General Laws shall be offered a Hepatitis C screening test or Hepatitis C diagnostic test unless the provider believes that:

(1)  The individual is being treated for a life threatening emergency; or

(2)  The individual has previously been offered or has received a Hepatitis screening test (except that a test shall be offered if otherwise indicated); or

(3)  The individual lacks capacity to consent to a Hepatitis C screening test.

If an individual accepts the offer of a Hepatitis C screening test and the screening test is reactive, the health care provider shall either offer the individual follow-up health care or refer the individual to a health care provider who can provide follow-up health care.  The follow-up health care shall include a Hepatitis C diagnostic test.

“Hepatitis C screening test” shall mean any FDA-approved laboratory screening test, FDA-approved rapid point-of-care test, or other FDA-approved tests that detect the presence of hepatitis C antibodies in the blood.

“Hepatitis C diagnostic test" means a laboratory test that detects the presence of hepatitis C virus in the blood and provides confirmation of whether the person whose blood is being tested has a hepatitis C virus infection.