AB 383, as introduced, Gipson. Public health: hepatitis C.
Existing law, the Hepatitis C Education, Screening, and Treatment Act, sets forth provisions pertaining to education and outreach related to hepatitis C, as specified. Existing law sets forth the intent of the Legislature with regard to these provisions.
This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 122405 of the Health and Safety Code
2 is amended to read:
The Legislature hereby finds and declaresbegin delete all ofend delete the
4following:
5(a) Hepatitis C is classified as a silent killer, where no
6recognizable signs or symptoms occur until severe liver damage
7has occurred.
8(b) Hepatitis C has been characterized by the World Health
9Organization as a disease of primary concern to humanity.
P2 1(c) Studies indicate that 1.8 percent of the population, nearly
24 million Americans, carry the virus HCV that causes hepatitis C.
3In California, as many as 500,000 individuals may be carriers and
4could develop the
debilitating and potentially deadly liver disease
5associated with hepatitis C in their lifetime. An expert panel,
6convened in March by the National Institutes of Health (NIH),
7estimated that 30,000 acute new infections occur each year in the
8United States, and only 25 to 30 percent of those are diagnosed.
9Current data sources indicate that 8,000 to 10,000 Americans die
10from hepatitis C each year.
11(d) Studies also indicate that 39.4 percent of male inmates and
1254.5 percent of female inmates in California correctional facilities
13have hepatitis C, 26 times higher than the general population. Upon
14their release from prison, these inmates present a significant health
15risk to the general population of California.
16(e) It is the intent of the Legislature to study the adequacy of
17the health care delivery system as it pertains to hepatitis C.
18(f)
It is the intent of the Legislature to urge the department to
19make funds available to community-based nonprofit organizations
20for education and outreach with respect to the hepatitis C virus.
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