HHS workforce letter

Dear Secretary Kennedy:

The Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine (ADLM) is concerned that reductions in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) workforce may hinder the ability of clinical laboratories to appropriately serve patients. While we recognize the need to streamline government operations, ADLM believes a systematic, transparent approach will be more effective to improving the delivery of patient care.

Federal agencies and their staff play an important role in helping clinical laboratories meet the testing needs of the public. For example,

National Institutes of Health – reviews and approves grants that fund medical research leading to better diagnostic methods.
Centers for Disease Control Prevention – assures the quality of testing for newborns and harmonizes test results that can eventually be employed by AI to provide better, more cost-effective care.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – oversees regulations that play a central role in providing timely, quality, and accurate testing to the public.

While ADLM supports efforts to improve the delivery of government services, we encourage you to employ a more collaborative, transparent approach that includes a dialogue with the healthcare community, patients, and Congress. Seeking public feedback and engagement may assist HHS in identifying those areas in need of reform as well as those programs that are critical to ensure public safety and may need more, rather than less resources.

We look forward to working with you on this important issue. If you have any questions, please email Vince Stine, PhD, ADLM’s Senior Director of Government and Global Affairs, at [email protected], or Evan Fortman, MPA, ADLM’s Manager of Government Affairs at [email protected].

Sincerely,

Anthony A. Killeen, MD, MSc, PhD

President, ADLM