Governors, State Health Directors Hear from ASCP BOC about COVID-19 Response

Governors and state health directors have been hearing from the ASCP Board of Certification (BOC) Board of Governors (BOG) about state response efforts to COVID-19. The ASCP BOC BOG wrote all 50 state governors last week to raise awareness about the important role that laboratory testing and laboratory professionals play in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a letter to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, the ASCP BOC BOG wrote that “Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, Chair of the National Governors Association, acknowledged the importance of [laboratory] testing when he said, ‘Without the tests we really are flying blind, we're sort of guessing about where the outbreaks are and what the infection rate and the hospitalization rates are. No state has enough testing,’ he commented.” The letter urged that as state governments take efforts to ensure the robustness of their healthcare work forces that these efforts, such as making adjustment to licensure requirements and other state benefits or requirements, also factor in laboratory professionals. A copy of one of the state letters is available here.

Other articles in the May 2020 ePolicy News:

• New Law Includes Funding for COVID-19 Testing, ASCP Recommendations for Testing Strategy
• ASCP Urges Creation of National COVID-19 Testing Task Force
• AMA Endorses ASCP’s Call for a National Testing Strategy
• ASCP, FDA Share Similar Concerns on Antigen Testing
• Hazard Pay, Mental Health Benefits Sought for Pathologists, Laboratory Professionals
• ASCP Interviewed about Job Satisfaction, Well-Being of Pathologists
• CMS Urged to Consider Specialists When Implementing MIPS Value Pathways
• Updated Risk-Based Guidelines Now Published for Management of Abnormal Results in Cervical Cancer Screening and Colposcopy

To read more articles from ePolicy News click here.

For more information regarding ASCP's advocacy initiatives and policy positions, please contact ASCP's Center for Public Policy at (202) 408-1110.

 ASCP ePolicy News is supported by an unrestricted grant from Hologic.