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- CAP Applauds Senators’ Support to Address Social Determinants of Health
Sens. Todd Young (R-IN) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) reintroduced the Social Determinants Accelerator Act in the Senate on October 22. The Social Determinants Accelerator Act would address health determinants by providing grants for state, local and tribal governments to develop strategies that target social determinants negatively impacting our most vulnerable populations. The legislation would also establish a federal interagency council to help grantees identify federal authorities, opportunities, and strategies to tackle these challenges.
The CAP sent a letter on August 24 in support of a companion bill in the House of Representatives. The House bill is sponsored by Reps. Cheri Bustos (D-IL), Tom Cole (R-OK), Jim McGovern (D-MA), and Markwayne Mullin (R-OK).
The primary thrust of these initiatives is to enable a better understanding of the social determinants that drive health care disparities in the United States. Federal agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have moved to improve health care data collection. Given the important role laboratory data has in the US health care system, the CAP engages with these agencies on discussions involving laboratory data to represent pathologists and the laboratories they direct.
The CAP supports the legislation because it brings health care agencies together to tackle social determinants of health and improve outcomes for the patients' pathologists serve. The CAP is reviewing the Senate bill and plans to engage with its sponsors on the legislation.