ACLA Statement on Year-End Funding Package
WASHINGTON, D.C. – As Congress nears a vote on year-end legislation to fund the government and support COVID-19 response efforts, ACLA President Julie Khani released the following statement:
“This package provides critical support for testing and public health reporting, and takes important steps to protect patients from surprise medical bills. We applaud these landmark health care achievements, which will meaningfully improve health care accessibility for patients throughout the pandemic and beyond it. At the same time, ACLA will be rolling up our sleeves to work with the 117th Congress, as much work remains to put the COVID-19 crisis behind us. Patients continue to face a patchwork coverage system that drives uncertainty and undermines federal response efforts. ACLA is committed to working with Congress and both the Trump and Biden Administrations to close coverage loopholes and fulfill the promise made in the Families First Act that everyone who needs a COVID test can receive one without worry of costs.
Robust access to accurate and reliable COVID-19 testing remains critical. Even as more Americans get vaccinated in the coming months, we anticipate continued demand for COVID-19 testing through 2021 while we learn more about the vaccines’ effects on transmission rates and continue to monitor community spread.”
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The American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA) is the national trade association representing leading laboratories that deliver essential diagnostic health information to patients and providers. ACLA members are at the forefront of driving diagnostic innovation to meet the country’s evolving health care needs and provide vital clinical laboratory tests that identify and prevent infectious, acute and chronic disease. ACLA works to advance the next generation of health care delivery through policies that expand access to lifesaving testing services.
