BILL NUMBER:  S6322

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to direct the commissioner of the department
of corrections and community supervision to undertake a study of the
surveillance, prevention, treatment and prevalence of hepatitis C
among the inmate population

 SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS :

Section 1 of the bill directs the Commissioner of the Department of
Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS), in consultation with
the Department of Health (DOH) to undertake a study of the
surveillance, prevention, treatment and prevalence of hepatitis C
among the inmate population, and to identify any procedural,
regulatory, legislative or budgetary obstacles to effective
surveillance, prevention and/or treatment of hepatitis C.

Section 2 of the bill sets a deadline of one year for the report
required in section 1.

Section 3 of the bill entitles DOCCS to the facilities, resources, and
data of other state agencies as may be reasonably required to research
and draft the report required by section 1.

Section 4 of the bill is the effect date.

              

 JUSTIFICATION :

Hepatitis C is the most common blood-borne viral infection in the
United States. According the American Journal of Medicine, over
200,000 New Yorkers live with chronic Hepatitis C infections, and
statistics from the Centers for Disease Control show that the number
of cases - and the rate of hepatitis C-related mortality - is on the
increase.

An October 2016 report in the medical journal Health Affairs notes
that state prisoners bear much of the burden of the hepatitis C
epidemic in the United States. Data from the 2015 Hepatitis C and
State Prisons Survey shows that on average, only 0.45% of prisoners
known to have hepatitis C were being treated for it at the time of the
survey. New York led all other states in this regard, treating 5.9% of
prisoners with hepatitis C, but still leaving over 94% of inmates
identified as having hepatitis C untreated.

This legislation would direct DOCCS, in consultation with DOH, to
examine how New York's state prison system identifies inmates
suffering from hepatitis C, prevents the spread of hepatitis C within
the prison population, and treats prisoners known to have hepatitis C,
and to identify any legal or budgetary obstacles to improving the
surveillance, prevention and/or treatment of the illness.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

New bill.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

To be determined.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.