ACLA Statement on HEROES Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Following the introduction of the ‘‘Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act” ACLA President Julie Khani issued the following statement:
“ACLA is currently reviewing the HEROES Act. As noted in our letter to Secretary Azar last month, direct federal funding for laboratories performing COVID-19 testing is critical to achieve our nation’s testing goals. As labs across the country plan for the large capital expenses that will be necessary to meet the needs of communities in the weeks and months ahead, we need clarity from policymakers about how resources designated for testing will be allocated.
Today, leaders from both the House of Representatives and the Senate once again signaled a shared commitment to expand access to high-quality testing. Meeting this need will require consistent access to supplies, adequate and predictable funding for laboratories performing the testing, and clear guidance to clinicians about who should be tested. These core needs were outlined during our first meeting with the White House Coronavirus Task Force on March 4, just days after FDA guidance allowed our members to begin testing. Today, ACLA members have performed nearly five million tests for COVID-19, and these needs remain unchanged.”
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ACLA is a not-for-profit association representing the nation’s leading clinical and anatomic pathology laboratories, including national, regional, specialty, hospital, ESRD and nursing home laboratories. The clinical laboratory industry employs nearly 295,000 people directly, and generates over 117,000 additional jobs in supplier industries. Clinical laboratories are at the forefront of personalized medicine, driving diagnostic innovation and contributing more than $106 billion to the nation’s economy.
