Cure Hepatitis C Act of 2025

A doctor on a federal list would check that you have no health coverage and clear you for treatment. The pills would then be free at a registered pharmacy.

States choose whether to join, and must commit for the full five years. If your state stays out, Medicaid and CHIP enrollees there would not get the free pills.

Medicare's drug benefit would charge nothing for these pills during those plan years. People who get low-income help with drug costs are covered too.

States and jails that join must drop prior approval rules for hepatitis C testing and treatment. Care could start without waiting on a review.

The money could only treat citizens and people in named lawful statuses, such as green card holders, refugees, and asylees. Health officials could add more groups later through a public rule.

Federal prisons and the Indian Health Service have no choice about taking part. State and local jails decide for themselves.

A jail that joins must hand over the rest of the course when someone is released mid-treatment, plus a referral for follow-up care. The bill also sends $25 million to the Bureau of Prisons for this work.

The bill says nothing in it overrides the federal law against running a site for drug use. Places that offer testing and treatment where people use drugs would keep the same criminal exposure they have now.

Medicaid rebates are set from a drug maker's lowest and average prices. The low price paid here would not count, so rebates on the company's other sales would not drop.

One winning bidder could take the whole job, or the top bid could take 70 percent and the runner-up 30 percent. Either way the payment is locked in for five years.

The board advising the program would include drug and test makers, plus health insurers. Patients, clinicians, pharmacists, and public health officials would also hold seats.

Clinics and pharmacies could not claim 340B or other federal drug discounts on pills they got free from this program. They could still use those discounts on hepatitis C drugs bought elsewhere.

Health officials would post the program's goals and how it is doing against them. Anyone could look.

Auditors would check that no one claims a second federal discount on these drugs. The government pays for the audits out of program money.

The money stays available only through 2031, the drug deal runs five years, and the Medicare break covers plan years 2027 through 2031. Congress would have to act again to keep any of it going.