December 9, 2022 – The Health Industry Distributors Association (HIDA) urged Congress to preserve lab services and prioritize pandemic preparedness in legislation currently under consideration before the end of the year.
In a letter to House and Senate leadership, HIDA expressed support for passage of S. 4449, the Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act (SALSA), which would prevent cuts of up to 15% that are scheduled to go into effect next year for many common laboratory diagnostic services. These cuts threaten to alter the landscape of patient access to diagnostics—further consolidating lab services and reducing access, particularly in rural communities.
HIDA also urged passage of S. 3799, the PREVENT Pandemics Act. This bipartisan legislation would improve preparedness strategy and coordination while strengthening public-private partnerships. Specifically, the PREVENT Pandemics Act contains improvements to the healthcare supply chain, providing the Strategic National Stockpile with additional flexibility to partner with distributors and manufacturers.