Advocacy - Lab Advocate
On April 16, ADLM joined laboratory and healthcare organizations on a letter to members of the California Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review regarding recent changes to laboratory personnel licensure fees in California.
The coalition asks the California Legislature to reverse increases in licensure fees for medical laboratory professionals that were enacted under AB 144. The law changed laboratory personnel licenses from biennial to annual licenses and increased initial and renewal fees for several categories of laboratory professionals, including clinical laboratory scientists, medical laboratory technicians, doctoral-level laboratory professionals, cytotechnologists, categorical scientists, and phlebotomists.
Fees for clinical laboratory scientists and medical laboratory technicians increased from $230 for initial licensure and $179 for renewal every two years to $300 annually for both initial and renewal licenses. The new fee structure applies the same cost to additional specialty licenses, which may affect laboratory professionals who hold more than one license.
The coalition urges the Budget Committee to revise the fee structure by reducing costs for initial licensure, renewal, and additional specialty licenses. It also requests that the Legislature provide laboratory professionals with a triennial license to reduce costs and administrative burden for licensees and the state.
ADLM will continue to monitor this policy development affecting laboratory professionals and the laboratory workforce.