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- CAP Supports COVID-19 Package Providing $46 Billion for Testing
The CAP urged a key health care committee in the House to increase testing resources and expand laboratory capacity for COVID-19 tests in its next pandemic relief package. In a letter to House Energy and Commerce Committee leaders, the CAP reiterated its concerns regarding persistent shortages of testing supplies and the need for additional assistance to fight this pandemic. On February 11, the House Energy and Commerce Committee marked up the bill, which aims to provide greater federal assistance for COVID-19 testing.
The Energy and Commerce Committee completed its work marking up and amending its portion of the package on February 11. The House Ways and Means Committee also concluded its work on the legislation on February 11.
The proposed $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package includes several economic and health care-related provisions, including more than $50 billion for vaccines. The legislation would also give the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) $46 billion for testing programs, including creating a national strategy and contact tracing of COVID-19.
“Specifically, the CAP supports the committee’s inclusion of $46 billion in funding for COVID-19 testing and the implementation of a testing strategy that supports investments in laboratory capacity,” wrote CAP President Patrick Godbey, MD, FCAP, in the letter to the Energy and Commerce Committee. “In addition to the specified activities outlined by the committee, we would emphasize that these funds should be used for a broad range of tests, including SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid tests, for a variety of communities and practice settings.”
Throughout the pandemic, the CAP has surveyed laboratory directors who reported that more testing could be done if they had all the necessary supplies. Laboratory directors have cited problems acquiring testing supplies, particularly test kits, plastic pipette tips, specimen acquisition swabs, and transport media, as the greatest barriers to increased testing.
The CAP has also engaged with the Biden administration as it counters the COVID-19 pandemic, especially those elements of the new strategy concerning diagnostic testing.