WHEREAS, Liver cancer and liver disease related to hepatitis B and C are two of the leading killers in California; and

WHEREAS, Hepatitis C is the most prevalent bloodborne disease in the United States and in California; and

WHEREAS, Early detection of hepatitis B and C infections promotes effective management or treatment of these infections, preventing disability, loss of productivity and income, and allowing people to live full, satisfying, and productive lives; and

WHEREAS, An undetected and untreated hepatitis B or C infection can lead to disability or death; and

WHEREAS, The majority of the estimated 750,000 Californians with chronic hepatitis C infection do not know they are infected, and are therefore at high risk of severe liver disease, liver cancer, or liver failure; and

WHEREAS, The majority of the estimated 350,000 California residents with hepatitis B infection do not know they are infected, and are therefore at high risk of severe liver disease, liver cancer, or liver failure; and

WHEREAS, Untreated hepatitis B and C infections are the leading causes of liver failure requiring liver transplant; and

WHEREAS, The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released updated guidelines calling for baby boomers – everyone born between 1945 and 1965 – to receive a one-time hepatitis C test, which would save over 100,000 lives; and

WHEREAS, In 2013, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) issued a Grade B rating for screening for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in persons at high risk for infection and adults born between 1945 and 1965; and

WHEREAS, Baby boomers make up 30 percent of California’s adult population, and African American baby boomers are twice as likely to have hepatitis C as other baby boomers; and

WHEREAS, In 2009, the USPSTF issued a Grade A rating for screening pregnant women for the hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection during their first prenatal visit; and

WHEREAS, In 2014, the USPSTF issued a Grade B rating for screening people born in countries where hepatitis B is common, United States-born people who were not vaccinated against hepatitis B when they were babies and whose parents come from countries where hepatitis B is common, and other people at risk for hepatitis B; and

WHEREAS, There is a vaccine for the prevention of hepatitis B – the first proven, low-cost vaccination against any form of cancer made available to Americans; and

WHEREAS, Hepatitis B is most prevalent among people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent, and one-third of Americans of Asian and Pacific Islander descent live in California; and

WHEREAS, Hepatitis B-related and hepatitis C-related hospitalization charges totaled $2.3 billion in 2010 in California, mostly paid for by tax-supported public health insurers; and

WHEREAS, New medications can cure hepatitis C in over 90 percent of people who are linked to and retained in care and treatment; and

WHEREAS, Hepatitis B can be treated effectively with proper medical management and may be curable in the near future; and

WHEREAS, The Legislature will continue to work to increase the affordability of, and access to, care, treatment, and cures for hepatitis; and

WHEREAS, Hepatitis awareness education campaigns and accessible screening for hepatitis B and C, along with appropriate treatment, can reduce the damage from hepatitis B and C viral infection to individuals and to our community, financially, as well as physically and emotionally; now, therefore, be it