,,ii  #aacth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #bech  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,june #bf1     
#bjad ,mr4 ,kirk 7for himself and ,ms4  
,hirono7 introduced the following bill2 
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,health1 ,education1     
,labor1 and ,pensions  ,a ,,bill  ,to   
amend the ,public ,health ,service ,act 
to revise and extend the program for    
viral hepatitis surveillance1 education1
 and testing in order to prevent deaths 
from chronic liver disease and liver    
cancer1 and for other purposes4  #a4    
,short title  ,this ,act may be cited as
 the ,viral ,hepatitis ,testing ,act of 
#bjad4  #b4  ,revision and extension of 
hepatitis surveillance1 education1 and  
testing program  7a7  ,in general       
,section #cag,n of the ,public ,health  
,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bdg;b-#ae7
 is amended--  7#a7 by amending the     
section heading to read as follows3     
,surveillance1 education1 testing1 and  
linkage to care regarding hepatitis     

virus2  7#b7 by redesignating           
subsections 7b7 and 7c7 as subsections  
7d7 and 7e71 respectively2 and  7#c7 by 
striking subsection 7a7 and inserting   
the following3  7a7  ,in general  ,the  
,secretary shall1 in accordance with    
this section1 carry out surveillance1   
education1 and testing programs with    
respect to hepatitis ,b and hepatitis ,c
 virus infections 7referred to in this  
section as ,,hbv and ,,hcv1             
respectively74 ,the ,secretary may carry
 out such programs directly and through 
grants to public and nonprofit private  
entities1 including ,states1 political  
subdivisions of ,states1 territories1   
,indian tribes1 and public-private      
partnerships4  7b7  ,national system    
,in carrying out subsection 7a71 the    
,secretary shall1 in consultation with  
,states and other public or nonprofit   
private entities and public-private     
partnerships described in subsection    
7d71 establish a national system with   
respect to ,,hbv and ,,hcv with the     

following goals3  7#a7 ,to determine the
 incidence and prevalence of such       
infections1 including providing for the 
reporting of acute and chronic cases4   
7#b7 ,with respect to the population of 
individuals who have such an infection1 
to carry out testing programs to        
increase the number of individuals who  
are aware of their infection to #ej     
percent by ,december #ca1 #bjad1 and to 
#ge percent by ,december #ca1 #bjaf4    
7#c7 ,to develop and disseminate public 
information and education programs for  
the detection and control of such       
infections4  7#d7 ,to improve the       
education1 training1 and skills of      
health professionals in the detection1  
control1 and care and treatment1 of such
 infections4  7#e7 ,to provide          
appropriate referrals for counseling and
 medical care and treatment of infected 
individuals and to ensure1 to the extent
 practicable1 the provision of          
appropriate follow-up services4  7c7    
,high-,risk populations2 chronic cases  

7#a7  ,in general  ,the ,secretary shall
 determine the populations that1 for    
purposes of this section1 are considered
 at high-risk for ,,hbv or ,,hcv4 ,the  
,secretary shall include the following  
among those considered at high-risk3    
7,a7 ,for ,,hbv1 individuals born in    
countries in which #b percent or more of
 the population has ,,hbv or who are a  
part of a high-risk category as         
identified by the ,centers for ,disease 
,control and ,prevention4  7,b7 ,for    
,,hcv1 individuals born between #aide   
and #aife or who are a part of a        
high-risk category as identified by the 
,centers for ,disease ,control and      
,prevention4  7,c7 ,those who have been 
exposed to the blood of infected        
individuals or of high-risk individuals 
or who are family members of such       
individuals4  7#b7  ,priority in        
programs  ,in providing for programs    
under this section1 the ,secretary shall
 give priority--  7,a7 to early         
diagnosis of chronic cases of ,,hbv or  

,,hcv in high-risk populations under    
paragraph 7#a72 and  7,b7 to education1 
and referrals for counseling and medical
 care and treatment1 for individuals    
diagnosed under subparagraph 7,a7 in    
order to--  7i7 reduce their risk of    
dying from end-stage liver disease and  
liver cancer1 and of transmitting the   
infection to others2  7ii7 determine the
 appropriateness for treatment to reduce
 the risk of progression to cirrhosis   
and liver cancer2  7iii7 receive ongoing
 medical management1 including regular  
monitoring of liver function and        
screenings for liver cancer2  7iv7      
receive1 as appropriate1 drug1 alcohol  
abuse1 and mental health treatment2  7v7
 in the case of women of childbearing   
age1 receive education on how to prevent
 ,,hbv perinatal infection1 and to      
alleviate fears associated with         
pregnancy or raising a family2 and  7vi7
 receive such other services as the     
,secretary determines to be appropriate4
  7#c7  ,cultural context  ,in providing

 for services pursuant to paragraph 7#b7
 for individuals who are diagnosed under
 subparagraph 7,a7 of such paragraph1   
the ,secretary shall seek to ensure that
 the services are provided in a         
culturally and linguistically           
appropriate manner4  7d7                
,public-,private partnerships  7#a7  ,in
 general  ,in carrying out this section1
 and not later than #fj days after the  
date of the enactment of the ,viral     
,hepatitis ,testing ,act of #bjad1 the  
,secretary shall1 in consultation with  
the ,assistant ,secretary for ,health1  
the ,director of the ,centers for       
,disease ,control and ,prevention1 the  
,health ,resources and ,services        
,administration1 the ,substance ,abuse  
and ,mental ,health ,services           
,administration1 the ,office of         
,minority ,health1 the ,indian ,health  
,service1 other relevant agencies1 and  
non-government stakeholder entities1    
establish and support public-private    
partnerships that facilitate the        

surveillance1 education1 screening1     
testing1 and linkage to care programs   
authorized by this section4  7#b7       
,duties  ,public-private partnerships   
established or supported under paragraph
 7#a7 shall--  7,a7 focus primarily on  
the surveillance1 education1 screening1 
testing1 and linkage to care programs   
authorized by this section2  7,b7       
generate resources1 in addition to the  
funds made available pursuant to        
subsection 7f71 to carry out the        
surveillance1 education1 screening1     
testing1 and linkage to care programs   
authorized in this section by leveraging
 ,federal funding with non-,federal     
funding and support2  7,c7 allow for    
investments in such programs of         
financial or in-kind resources by each  
of the partners involved in the         
partnership2  7,d7 include corporate and
 industry entities1 academic            
institutions1 public and non-profit     
organizations1 community and faith-based
 organizations1 foundations1 and other  

governmental and non-governmental       
organizations2 and  7,e7 advance the    
core goals of each of the partners of   
the partnership as determined by the    
,secretary in development of the        
partnership4  7#c7  ,annual reports     
,the ,secretary shall provide to the    
,congress an annual report on the       
public-private partnerships established 
under this subsection4 ,each such report
 shall include--  7,a7 the number of    
public-private partnerships established2
  7,b7 specific and quantifiable        
information on the surveillance1        
education1 screening1 testing1 and      
linkage to care activities conducted as 
well as the outcomes achieved through   
each of the public-private partnerships2
  7,c7 the amount of ,federal funding or
 resources dedicated to the             
public-private partnerships2  7,d7 the  
amount of non-,federal funding or       
resources leveraged through the         
public-private partnerships2 and  7,e7 a
 plan for the following year that       

outlines future activities4  7#d7       
,limitation  ,no more than #be percent  
of the funds made available to carry out
 this section may be used for           
public-private partnerships established 
or supported under this subsection4     
7#e7  ,linkage to care  ,for purposes of
 this section1 the term linkage to care 
means1 with respect to an individual    
with a diagnosis of ,,hbv or ,,hcv1 the 
referral of such individual to clinical 
care for a thorough evaluation of their 
clinical status to determine the need   
for treatment1 vaccination for ,,hbv1 or
 other therapy4  7e7  ,agency for       
healthcare research and quality ,,hbv   
and ,,hcv guidelines  ,due to the       
rapidly evolving standard of care       
associated with diagnosing and treating 
viral hepatitis infection1 the ,director
 of the ,agency for ,healthcare         
,research and ,quality shall convene the
 ,preventive ,services ,task ,force     
under section #iae7;a7 to review its    
recommendation for screening for ,,hbv  

and ,,hcv infection every #c years4  7f7
  ,funding  7#a7  ,in general  ,in      
addition to any amounts otherwise       
authorized by this ,act1 there are      
authorized to be appropriated to carry  
out this section--  7,a7 #be1jjj1jjj for
 fiscal year #bjad2  7,b7 #ce1jjj1jjj   
for fiscal year #bjae2 and  7,c7        
#bj1jjj1jjj for fiscal year #bjaf4  7#b7
  ,grants  ,of the amounts appropriated 
pursuant to paragraph 7#a7 for a fiscal 
year1 the ,secretary shall reserve not  
less than #hj percent for making grants 
under subsection 7a74  7#c7  ,source of 
funds  ,the funds made available to     
carry out this section shall be derived 
exclusively from the funds appropriated 
or otherwise made available for planning
 and evaluation under this ,act4  4  7b7
  ,savings ,provision  ,the amendments  
made by this section shall not be       
construed to require termination of any 
program or activity carried out by the  
,secretary of ,health and ,human        
,services under section #cag,n of the   

,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db      
,u4,s4,c4 #bdg;b-#ae7 as in effect on   
the day before the date of the enactment
 of this ,act4