Hepatitis

-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2019 Viral Hepatitis Surveillance Report. Published July 2021.

An estimated 4 million people are living with hepatitis C*, and according to the CDC's 2023 Hepatitis C Surveillance Report, there were approximately 5000 reported acute hepatitis C cases, reflected a 13% increase from 2022. **

Additionally, analyses done by the CDC’s Division of Viral Hepatitis (DVH) found that only 34% of people achieved viral clearance, and outcomes varied significantly by insurance type:

• Commercial insurance: 45%
• Medicare: 40%
• Medicaid: 31%
• Other/unspecified: as low as 23% cdc.gov

These disparities reflect broader systemic issues, including Medicaid treatment restrictions, such as prior authorization and sobriety requirements.

NASTAD’s Hepatitis team provides guidance and technical assistance to strengthen the capacity of state and local health departments to develop, maintain and enhance comprehensive hepatitis programs as they address the continuum from prevention through cure.

NASTAD is funded by the CDC’s Division of Viral Hepatitis (DVH) to deliver technical assistance (TA) and capacity-building center for health department hepatitis programs through the Hepatitis Online Technical Assistance Platform. The primary goal of HepTAC is to build state and local technical expertise and enhance health department capacity to eliminate viral hepatitis.

Additionally, NASTAD in partnership with National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable (NVHR) and National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) are implementing and facilitating the Hepatitis Network for Education and Testing (HepNET), a network of state, local and tribal health departments (LHDs/THDs), community-based organizations (CBOs), tribal organizations, clinical providers, people with lived experience, syringe services programs (SSPs) and harm reduction programs focused on identifying and addressing the unmet needs of people who inject drugs (PWID). NASTAD and its partners will provide technical assistance and training to network members with a focus on hepatitis B and hepatitis C for people who inject drugs to improve their access to viral hepatitis education, prevention, testing, linkage to care, and treatment.