Advocacy - Comment Letter
Dear Chair Baldwin and Ranking Member Moore Capito:
The Association for Diagnostics and Laboratory Medicine (ADLM) supports improving the pediatric reference intervals (PRIs) used by healthcare providers to interpret laboratory test results. Whereas reference intervals for adults are accurate, those used for diagnosing and treating our children are inadequate (see Attachment 1).
Earlier this year, ADLM and forty-two other healthcare organizations (see Attachment 2), including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Children’s Hospital Association, and the National Rural Health Association requested $10 million for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to begin work on this initiative. CDC is supportive of this effort.
While funding this project remains our priority, ADLM is requesting that the Subcommittee include report language in its Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, & Related Agencies fiscal year 2025 appropriations bill, similar to what was included in the House version:
Pediatric Reference Intervals—The Committee supports CDC’s work to ensure the reliable diagnosis and treatment of children in a cost-effective manner. A 2022 CDC study found that many reference intervals used for children do not accurately reflect the biology of child development. The Committee encourages CDC to develop pediatric reference intervals and directs the CDC to include information on the funding needed for this activity as part of the fiscal year 2026 congressional justification.
ADLM looks forward to working with you to improve the quality of care provided to our most vulnerable population – our children. If you have any questions, please email Vince Stine, PhD, ADLM’s Senior Director of Government and Global Affairs, at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Octavia M. Peck Palmer, PhD, FADLM
President, ADLM