liver cancer or end stage liver disease which costs 
between $30,980 to $110,576 per hospital admis-
sion. As health care costs continue to grow, it is crit-
ical that the Federal Government invests in effective 
mechanisms to avoid documented cost drivers. 
(15) According to the Institute of Medicine re-
port in 2010 (described in paragraph (13)), chronic 
HBV and HCV infections cause substantial mor-
bidity and mortality despite being preventable and 
treatable. Deficiencies in the implementation of es-
tablished guidelines for the prevention, diagnosis, 
and medical management of chronic HBV and HCV 
infections perpetuate personal and economic bur-
dens. Existing grants are not sufficient for the scale 
of the health burden presented by HBV and HCV. 
(16) Screening and testing for chronic HBV 
and HCV are aligned with the Healthy People 2020 
goal to increase immunization rates and reduce pre-
ventable infectious diseases. Awareness of disease 
and access to prevention and treatment remain es-
sential components for reducing infectious disease 
transmission. 
(17) Federal support is necessary to increase 
knowledge and awareness of HBV and HCV and to 
assist State and local prevention and control efforts 
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in reducing the morbidity and mortality of these 
epidemics. 
(18) The Secretary of Health and Human Serv-
ices has the discretion to carry out this Act directly 
and through whichever of the agencies of the Public 
Health Service the Secretary determines to be ap-
propriate, which may (in the Secretary’s discretion) 
include the Centers for Disease Control and Preven-
tion, the Health Resources and Services Administra-
tion, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Serv-
ices Administration, the National Institutes of 
Health (including the National Institute on Minority 
Health and Health Disparities), and other agencies 
of such Service. 
SEC. 3. REVISION AND EXTENSION OF HEPATITIS SURVEIL-
LANCE, EDUCATION, AND TESTING PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 317N of the Public 
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247b–15) is amended— 
(1) by amending the heading to read as follows: 
‘‘SURVEILLANCE, EDUCATION, AND
TESTING 
REGARDING HEPATITIS VIRUS’’; 
(2) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as 
subsections (d) and (e), respectively; and 
(3) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 
following: 
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‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, in accord-
ance with this section, carry out surveillance, education, 
and testing programs with respect to hepatitis B and hep-
atitis C virus infections (referred to in this section as 
‘HBV’ and ‘HCV’, respectively). The Secretary may carry 
out such programs directly and through grants to public 
and nonprofit private entities, including States, political 
subdivisions of States, territories, Indian tribes, and pub-
lic-private partnerships. 
‘‘(b) NATIONAL SYSTEM.—In carrying out subsection 
(a), the Secretary shall cooperate with States and other 
public or nonprofit private entities to seek to establish a 
national system with respect to HBV and HCV with the 
following goals: 
‘‘(1) To determine the incidence and prevalence 
of such infections, including providing for the report-
ing of chronic cases. 
‘‘(2) With respect to the population of individ-
uals who have such an infection, to carry out testing 
programs to increase the number of individuals who 
are aware of their infection to 50 percent by 2014 
and to 75 percent by 2016. 
‘‘(3) To develop and disseminate public infor-
mation and education programs for the detection 
and control of such infections, with priority given to 
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changing behaviors that place individuals at risk of 
infection. 
‘‘(4) To provide appropriate referrals for coun-
seling and medical treatment of infected individuals 
and to ensure, to the extent practicable, the provi-
sion of appropriate follow-up services. 
‘‘(5) To improve the education, training, and 
skills of health professionals in the detection, con-
trol, and treatment of such infections, with priority 
given to pediatricians and other primary care physi-
cians, and obstetricians and gynecologists. 
‘‘(c) HIGH-RISK POPULATIONS; CHRONIC CASES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall deter-
mine the populations that, for purposes of this sec-
tion, are considered at high-risk for HBV or HCV. 
The Secretary shall include the following among 
those considered at high-risk: 
‘‘(A) For HBV, individuals born in coun-
tries in which 2 percent or more of the popu-
lation has HBV. 
‘‘(B) For HCV, individuals born between 
1945 and 1965. 
‘‘(C) Those who have been exposed to the 
blood of infected individuals or of high-risk in-
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dividuals, are family members of such individ-
uals, or are sexual partners of such individuals. 
‘‘(2) PRIORITY IN PROGRAMS.—In providing for 
programs under subsection (b), the Secretary shall 
give priority— 
‘‘(A) to early diagnosis of chronic cases of 
HBV or HCV in high-risk populations under 
paragraph (1); and 
‘‘(B) to education, and referrals for coun-
seling and medical treatment, for individuals di-
agnosed under subparagraph (A) in order to— 
‘‘(i) reduce their risk of dying from 
end-stage liver disease and liver cancer, 
and of transmitting the infection to others; 
‘‘(ii) determine the appropriateness 
for treatment to reduce the risk of progres-
sion to cirrhosis and liver cancer; 
‘‘(iii) receive ongoing medical manage-
ment, including regular monitoring of liver 
function and screenings for liver cancer; 
‘‘(iv) receive, as appropriate, drug, al-
cohol abuse, and mental health treatment; 
‘‘(v) in the case of women of child-
bearing age, receive education on how to 
prevent HBV perinatal infection, and to al-
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