Making Hepatitis C a Rare Disease in the U.S.

New breakthrough medicines for Hepatitis C present an important choice about setting goals and taking systemic action to achieve public health advances in the United States. Despite appearing to offer cure rates greater than 90 percent, high-priced Hepatitis C drugs have driven treatment rationing since their approval over two years ago. Gaps in the screening, diagnosis, and treatment of Hepatitis C pose significant public health consequences.

In May, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identified Hepatitis C as the leading infectious killer in the United States in 2014—the first year in which new medicines for the disease were available—claiming more lives (nearly 20,000) than 60 other infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS, pneumococcal disease, and tuberculosis, combined.