U.S. Preventive Services Task Force

December 10, 2012

On November 26, 2012, The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released its long awaited draft hepatitis C testing recommendations. Fortunately, the USPSTF has given a “B” grade recommendation for testing high-risk adults, such as those who inject drugs or who received a blood transfusion before 1992. However, the USPSTF has given only a “C” grade recommendation to giving a one-time test to all individuals born between 1945-1965 (“Baby Boomers”). This conflicts with the CDC’s recommendation to test all Baby Boomers, who make up 75% of the more than 4 million Americans with hepatitis C. If this grade doesn’t improve after the public comment period, it will keep many medical providers from testing their patients and will make it difficult to get public and private insurers to cover hepatitis C testing.

We have until December 24, 2012, to submit public comment and convince the USPSTF to change its draft “C” grade to a “B.” Your help is needed! Below are links to important information, such as the USPSTF draft recommendations, Action Alerts with sample public comment language, and letters from other organizations. Check back often for updates to this Action Center. If you would like your public comment letter to be posted as an example, send it to info@nvhr.org.

• NVHR USPSTF Letter, 12/21/12
• Urge Your House Representative to Sign Bi-Partisan Letter Calling on USPSTF to Change Its Hepatitis C Recommendation
• USPSTF Hep C public comment
• CAP response USPSTF draft HCV Screening
• USPSTF Sign-on Letter (This is a word document. You will be prompted to open/save the document)
• USPSTF Fact Sheet on Draft Recommendations
• NVHR Press Release
• NVHR Action Alert
• NVHR step-by-step guide to making public comment
• Hepatitis C Screening — Getting It Right, by Brian Edlin, MD
• Brian Edlin MD Powerpoint Presentationon on USPSTF HCV Screening Guidelines Comments
• TFAH Comments on the USPSTF HCV Screening Guidelines
• USPSTF HCV Cami analysis 12-12v2
• USPSTF HCV Massachusetts Response Sample v3 (This is a word document. You will be prompted to open/save the document)
• HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) USPSTF Draft Recommendation Statement
• Johnson & Johnson comments on the draft recommendation of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) on screening for hepatitis C virus infection in adults.
• Comments on USPSTF HCV Testing Recommendations from HHCAWG
• Archive: NVHR comments on prior USPSTF draft
• Archive: NVHR position on AHRQ draft

USPSTF Sign On Letter

Deadline: 5 pm Pacific, Thursday, December 20th.

• USPSTF Sign-on Letter (This is a word document. You will be prompted to open/save the document)

Please note that it is extremely important that we flood the USPSTF with separate public comment letters. So, in addition to signing this letter, please submit your own comments – as individuals and as organizations. There will be other sign-on letters circulating in the next few days and all are worthy of signatures, but please make sure you submit your own comments as well. Over 100,000 lives are at stake.

To sign the attached letter, email the following information to rclary@nvhr.org

Name of organization
City, state
Contact person