New Law on Hep. C

The Department of Health (DOH) clarified the expectations for nursing homes under the Hepatitis C Testing Law that went into effect on Jan. 1, 2014. The law requires that all individuals born between 1945 and 1965 receiving health services as an inpatient of a hospital or receiving primary care services in an outpatient department of a hospital or in a free-standing diagnostic and treatment center or from a physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner providing primary care must be offered a hepatitis C screening test. An individual need only be offered the screening once. Nursing homes may accept documentation from hospitals or other primary care providers that the screening was offered. If documentation is unavailable nursing homes (physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners) would have to offer the screening to those individuals covered by the law. Additional information is available here. Click on the Hepatitis C tab.

Contact: Elliott Frost, efrost@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8832