For a disease that can be cured in weeks, hepatitis C continues to take a disproportionate toll on Black Americans, prompting two national health organizations to call on Congress to make treatment more accessible. 

The National Black Church Initiative (NBCI) and the American Clinical Health Disparities Commission (ACHDC) are urging lawmakers to pass legislation aimed at eliminating hepatitis C in the United States, including H.R. 9682, the Cure Hepatitis C Act of 2026. 

The House measure was introduced last month by U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, an Iowa Republican, with Democratic Reps. Diana DeGette of Colorado and Hank Johnson of Georgia and Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska as cosponsors. The bill was referred to several House committees, including Energy and Commerce, Judiciary, Natural Resources and Ways and Means. 

The Senate has its own version, S. 1941, introduced in 2025 by Sens. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, and Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat. That bill remains with the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee after being referred there in June 2025. 

For Rev. Anthony Evans, president of NBCI, the availability of effective treatment makes the continued burden of the virus especially urgent. 

“We have a cure for Hep C, why are we not making it available to all Americans? This Congress should know that this is one of the issues African Americans will be taking to the polls come November,” Evans said. 

The concern is rooted in longstanding disparities. Research published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology found hepatitis C prevalence among non-Hispanic Black people at 1.8%, compared with 0.8% among people of other races. The study also estimated that 23% of prevalent hepatitis C infections occurred among non-Hispanic Black people, while the group represented about 12% of the U.S. population in the study period. 

Mortality data tells another part of the story. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the hepatitis C-related death rate among Black Americans was 4.03 deaths per 100,000 people in 2023, compared with 2.40 per 100,000 among white Americans. 

The disease remains difficult to detect because many people with hepatitis C have no symptoms. The CDC estimates that more than 2.4 million people in the United States had hepatitis C during 2017-2020, while reported cases capture only a portion of infections. 

H.R. 9682 seeks to address that gap through a national elimination program. Among its provisions is a subscription-style purchasing model intended to expand access to direct-acting antiviral medications. The legislation also addresses cost-sharing and prior authorization barriers for certain populations, including people covered by Medicaid, uninsured individuals and patients receiving care through the Indian Health Service. Funding would support screening, diagnosis and “test-to-treat” efforts through state, local, tribal and correctional health systems. 

Those medications have transformed hepatitis C treatment. The CDC reports that direct-acting antiviral therapies can cure more than 95% of people with hepatitis C, generally with an eight- to 12-week course of treatment. Without treatment, chronic infection can lead to serious liver disease, including cirrhosis and liver cancer. 

The policy push comes as the nation continues to see progress against hepatitis C mortality. The CDC reported 11,194 hepatitis C-related deaths in 2023, down from 12,717 in 2022. Still, the agency notes that death certificate data likely underestimate the toll because hepatitis C is not always listed as a cause of death. 

NBCI, a coalition representing 150,000 African American and Latino faith communities and 27.7 million members, says its work centers on addressing racial disparities in health care and other areas. ACHDC works with clinicians and clergy on health education, clinical trial participation and efforts to address health inequities. 

For the organizations, the legislation is an opportunity to connect an effective medical treatment with the people who still face barriers to receiving it.