Pa. baby boomers might face mandatory hepatitis C screenings

Pennsylvania lawmakers could send to the governor a plan to make doctors test for hepatitis C among those most likely to have it – baby boomers.

The mandatory screening for people born between 1945 and 1965 would address another medical issue contributing to rising health care costs.

Rahdearra Jones, 27, spoke at a Tuesday news conference in Harrisburg about her mother, who died five years ago at the age of 54 from liver disease caused by hepatitis C. The disease had been diagnosed too late. "There are people who are dying every day from this disease," said Jones. "There are people, children, who are losing their parents due to disease that ... has a cure and also something that can be prohibited. So we need to be more proactive instead of reactive."

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