Cure Hepatitis C Act of 2026
Key claim: The bill would have HHS bulk-buy hepatitis C drugs under a five-year contract so Medicaid, CHIP, incarcerated, uninsured, and Indian Health Service patients can get them free, fund testing-and-treatment grants, and waive Medicare cost-sharing for those drugs from 2028 through 2032.
Abstract
(HR9682 · 119th Congress) Cure Hepatitis C Act of 2026 This bill establishes programs and requirements to provide free medications to treat hepatitis C in certain high-risk or vulnerable populations. It also establishes grants and other resources to support testing and treatment for hepatitis C. The bill provides funding for FY2027 to implement these provisions. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must enter into a five-year purchasing contract with manufacturers of drugs that treat hepatitis C so that eligible individuals may receive the drugs without cost-sharing. Eligible individuals are those diagnosed with hepatitis C who are (1) enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), (2) confined to federal, state, or local correctional facilities (or were released and began treatment there), (3) uninsured, or (4) receiving health care through the Indian Health Service. State Medicaid and CHIP programs and state and local correctional facilities may opt into the program; participation is mandatory for federal correctional facilities and the Indian Health Service. HHS must award grants to certain entities, including states, public health organizations, and correctional facilities, to support the coordination and provision of screening, treatment, and supportive services for the affected populations. The bill also allows Medicare beneficiaries to receive hepatitis C drugs without cost-sharing from 2028-2032. Latest action (2026-07-14): Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Natural Resources, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Why this matters
Hepatitis C is curable with direct-acting antivirals, but the drugs’ price has long limited access in Medicaid, prisons, and IHS, leaving a reservoir of untreated infections. This bill would test a federal ‘subscription’ procurement model — HHS buys the drugs in bulk and makes them free to key populations — alongside a Medicare cost-sharing waiver, aligning federal coverage programs around an elimination strategy. As an introduced bill referred to committee, it has no immediate operational effect.