How Much Will It Cost? Are You Ready to Answer the Hepatitis C Question?

Key Objectives:
This roundtable will foster discussion of enhancing surveillance within resource restraints and explore the potential for increased resources for Hepatitis C surveillance in the United States.

Brief Summary:
Recommendations to screen all "baby boomers" for hepatitis C are in place, new infections in younger people are arising out of the epidemic of heroin use, and more and more people are being identified as infected with hepatitis C virus.  Now that curative therapy is available, albeit at great cost, questions arise as to the burden of infection and the potential costs of treatment.  Hepatitis C surveillance has been, and continues to be, under-resourced, with limited data available to answer questions pertinent to policy and planning.  This roundtable will foster discussion of enhancing surveillance within resource restraints and explore the potential for increased resources.