Cure Hepatitis C Act of 2025
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
The Cure Hepatitis C Act of 2025 creates a national program to eliminate hepatitis C in the United States. The centerpiece is a subscription-model drug purchasing program where the federal government negotiates with pharmaceutical manufacturers to buy hepatitis C treatments (direct-acting antivirals) in bulk at discounted rates in exchange for volume guarantees. These drugs would then be distributed free to uninsured and underinsured Americans through registered pharmacies, state and local correctional facilities, the Bureau of Prisons, Indian Health Service facilities, and Veterans Affairs. The bill appropriates 4.283 billion dollars over fiscal years 2025 through 2031 to fund the program, with 25 million set aside for the Bureau of Prisons. It also modifies Medicare Part D to eliminate deductibles and copays for hepatitis C antivirals for plan years 2027-2031. Public health grants would fund outreach, screening, harm reduction services, and wraparound care in communities with high hepatitis C prevalence. Eligibility is restricted to US citizens, permanent residents, and certain qualifying immigration statuses.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Establishes a comprehensive national Hepatitis C Elimination Program with a subscription-model drug purchasing program, public health grants, Medicare coverage expansion for Hepatitis C treatment, and over 4.2 billion dollars in mandatory funding to achieve elimination of the hepatitis C virus in the United States by 2031.
Who Benefits
- Uninsured and underinsured individuals with hepatitis C
- Incarcerated populations with hepatitis C
- Indian Health Service patients
Who Bears Costs
- Federal Treasury (4.283 billion in mandatory spending)
- Medicare Part D plans (reduced cost-sharing)
- Pharmaceutical manufacturers (discounted per-unit pricing)
Key Policy Areas
{'domain': 'Healthcare', 'evidence': 'The entire bill creates healthcare programs for hepatitis C screening, diagnosis, treatment through subscription drug model, public health grants, and Medicare Part D amendments'}, {'domain': 'Social Welfare', 'evidence': 'Section 4 targets uninsured and underinsured populations including incarcerated individuals, Indian Health Service patients, and veterans'}, {'domain': 'Finance', 'evidence': 'Section 6 appropriates 4.283 billion dollars in mandatory spending; Section 7 restructures Medicare Part D cost-sharing for hepatitis C drugs'}
Primary Purpose
Establishes a comprehensive national Hepatitis C Elimination Program with a subscription-model drug purchasing program, public health grants, Medicare coverage expansion for Hepatitis C treatment, and over 4.2 billion dollars in mandatory funding to achieve elimination of the hepatitis C virus in the United States by 2031.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Uses a Netflix-style subscription model to dramatically lower per-patient drug costs while guaranteeing pharmaceutical manufacturers volume, enabling mass treatment of hard-to-reach populations (incarcerated, uninsured, tribal) that currently have low treatment rates"
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Cassidy (for himself and Mr. Van Hollen) introduced the …
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, …
Introduced in Senate
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Community health centers and harm reduction organizations, Hepatitis C patients in US states and territories, Hepatitis C patients in high-risk populations
Positive-direction: Community health centers and harm reduction organizations, Hepatitis C patients in US states and territories, Hepatitis C patients in high-risk populations, Indian Health Service patients, Public health workforce, Registered pharmacies and dispensing sites, US citizens and qualifying immigrants with hepatitis C, Uninsured and underinsured hepatitis C patients
Negative-direction: Syringe services programs and harm reduction organizations
Department of Health and Human Services, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Treasury
Department of Health and Human Services faces effects in multiple directions
Positive-direction: Federal Bureau of Prisons, State and local correctional systems, State and local public health departments, State public health departments
Negative-direction: Federal Treasury
At-risk populations (people who inject drugs, homeless individuals)
Pharmaceutical manufacturers of direct-acting antivirals
Undocumented immigrants with hepatitis C
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Health and Human Services
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Health and Human Services
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Health and Human Services
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Health and Human Services
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Health and Human Services
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Health and Human Services
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Health and Human Services
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A direct acting antiviral drug approved under section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act for the treatment of hepatitis C virus infection
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology