Advocacy - Lab Advocate
On May 14, ADLM sent a letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. urging the department to reinstate the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Advisory Committee (CLIAC). The advisory panel has served HHS for decades, providing critical scientific and technical guidance on the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA), which regulate more than 300,000 laboratories performing 14 billion tests each year. The committee was originally chartered in 1992 and served as a forum for federal agencies, the laboratory community, and patient representatives to collaborate on policies that improve test quality, personnel standards, and patient care.
The association emphasized that CLIAC’s recommendations have historically informed CMS rulemaking and the State Operations Manual, ensuring inspection practices and quality standards remain current and effective. CLIAC also plays an essential role in promoting best practices through education and oversight—all funded by CLIA user fees collected from laboratories.
Given the committee’s proven value and the critical importance of laboratory testing in modern healthcare, ADLM strongly recommended reinstating CLIAC as a key stakeholder forum to support effective, science-based oversight of laboratory quality. ADLM will continue monitoring developments and work to ensure the laboratory community has a voice in shaping policies that directly impact quality testing and patient care.