An attorney for a death-row inmate accused the state of Colorado of failing to treat prisoners with hepatitis C because of the cost. David Lane, who represents convicted killer Frank Rodriguez, said Wednesday he may bring a class-action lawsuit against the Department of Corrections for not properly treating 7,000 inmates he claims suffer from the disease. "It's going to be a huge issue," Lane said. "It's the HIV of the new millennium." Rodriguez was hospitalized Friday with liver disease, it was believed to be due to hepatitis C. The department's Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Joseph McGarry, puts the number of infected inmates much lower, at 2,900, or 17 percent of the state's 17,150 inmates. Hepatitis C treatment costs $20,000 per year per inmate. While the department's budget includes $7 million available annually for medication, there is no line item specifying hepatitis C drugs. Health officials say 1.8 percent of the US population, or 2.7 million people, has the disease.

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