Time To Address Hepatitis C In New York!

Hepatitis C is an urgent and neglected health issue in New York, with nearly 200,000 state residents living with chronic hepatitis C. The number of people with serious liver disease from hepatitis, including cirrhosis and liver cancer, is expected to triple over the next decade and associated health care costs will rise exponentially if we do not act quickly. African Americans and Latinos have disproportionately high rates of hepatitis C, and nearly one-third of people living with HIV are also coinfected with hepatitis C. We have the tools to end the hepatitis C epidemic in New York. New, more effective drugs to treat hepatitis C can cure most people, and a rapid test is now available to increase access to screening and linkage to care for hepatitis C. But our state needs to strengthen hepatitis C testing, care and treatment systems in order to ensure New Yorkers have access to these new treatment and testing technologies. In fact, the effective treatment and prevention tools already available now are vastly underutilized.

Hepatitis C Recommendations For 2011

Sign onto a letter urging the development of a statewide plan to battle hepatitis C Our biggest obstacle is testing and diagnosis: most New Yorkers living with chronic hepatitis C dont know that they have it. We are asking the NYS Department of Health (DOH), the Office of Alcohol & Substance Abuse Services (OASAS), and the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) and other appropriate state agencies to develop plans to diagnosis all New Yorkers. Renew New Yorks existing investment in hepatitis C education, prevention, and medical care coordination through the NYS Department of Health from $1.19 million in FY 2013 New York States DOH has taken critical first steps to expand the infrastructure for medical care coordination across the state. These efforts must be preserved, to support access to quality health care and treatment for New Yorkers living with chronic hepatitis C and those coinfected with both HIV and hepatitis C.

Increase New Yorks investment in addressing hepatitis C by ensuring the hepatitis C Medicaid Redesign Team recommendation is included in the FY 2013 budget, adding $2.1 Million to the fight The challenges of hepatitis C require innovative care models and reimbursement strategies. The Medicaid Redesign Team recommendation provides a solid foundation for ensuring and sustaining quality, accessible health care for New Yorkers with chronic hepatitis C.

80-A Fourth Ave. | Brooklyn, NY 11217 | www.VOCAL-NY.org | info@vocal-ny.org | (718) 802-9540 | 718-228-2477 fax