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Free hepatitis C testing is coming to San Diego County, California next month, which matters for anyone who has been putting off a medical question because of what an answer might cost.
On August 19, a nonprofit recovery center in Chula Vista will offer screenings, health education, and referrals to treatment without charging attendees anything.
The event runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at a South Bay recovery center on Third Avenue in Chula Vista. It is organized in partnership with the nonprofit Every Moment Counts, which is helping connect people who test positive with follow-up care.
Why This Testing Event Is Worth Your Time
Roughly 50,000 San Diego County residents are living with chronic hepatitis C, according to the organization hosting the event, and many of them do not know it.
That is the part worth sitting with. Hepatitis C often produces no obvious symptoms for years while it quietly damages the liver.
Left untreated, the virus can progress to liver disease, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. Caught early, it can be cured. The gap between those two outcomes is often just a test result.
Who Can Get Tested at No Cost
The screenings are open to community members, and there is no insurance requirement or fee attached. You do not need to be enrolled in a treatment program to show up.
Organizers note that people with a history of injection drug use face a higher risk of contracting hepatitis C, because the virus spreads through blood-to-blood contact, including shared needles and injection equipment. That risk is a medical fact, not a judgment, and testing is how people act on it.
“Recovery goes beyond treating addiction,” said Holly Lopez, program director of the South Bay recovery center hosting the event.
She described free testing as one of several ways the program helps people clear health obstacles that can otherwise interfere with staying in recovery long term.
How to Access Free Hepatitis C Testing and Follow-Up Care
Free hepatitis C testing events like this one are part of a wider safety net that exists outside private-pay medical care. If you cannot make the August date, similar access points exist year-round in most areas:
- Syringe service programs and harm reduction organizations frequently offer free hepatitis C and HIV testing alongside naloxone and safer-use supplies
- Federally qualified health centers provide testing and treatment on a sliding scale based on income
- County public health departments often run no-cost testing clinics
- Many state Medicaid programs cover hepatitis C treatment, including the antiviral medications that can cure it
Anyone who tests positive should ask directly about treatment coverage. Hepatitis C medications carry a high list price, which is exactly why the coverage question needs asking rather than assuming.
Paying for Addiction Treatment When Money Is the Barrier
If the testing conversation opens a larger one about substance use, cost does not have to end it. Free and low-cost rehabs exist in every state, and several routes are worth checking:
- Ask whether you qualify for California Medi-Cal, the state Medicaid program, which covers substance use treatment
- Look for programs that use a sliding fee scale tied to income
- Contact SAMHSA’s national helpline at 1-800-662-4357 for free, confidential referrals to local options
- Ask nonprofit and community-based providers about scholarship beds or grant-funded slots
Finding Free and Low-Cost Rehabs in California
Nobody should have to choose between finding out whether they have a curable virus and paying rent.
Events like the one in Chula Vista exist because that choice is real for a lot of people, and because meeting people where they are gets more of them into care.
Rehabs.org lists free and low-cost treatment options nationwide. Call
800-914-7089
(
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to speak with someone about finding affordable care near you.
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