CAP President Emily E. Volk, MD, FCAP met with the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Health Braintrust during a forum to discuss strategies to address inequities that pathologists can take in health care. On March 10, Dr. Volk provided an overview of the CAP’s work to eliminate disparities in diagnostic algorithms and reference ranges, as well as current advocacy policies supporting Medicaid expansion and mitigating social determinants of health. As physicians and leaders in laboratory medicine, members of the CAP are dedicated to ensuring health equity and addressing disparities in health care.

The Health Braintrust is the CBC’s principal health care advisory task force responsible for advancing health priorities, which include protecting health equity and reducing health disparities in all communities. Following an invitation to participate during the March 10 roundtable event, the CAP welcomed the opportunity to discuss how pathologists are working to address inequities and improve patient outcomes. For example, the use of race-based kidney function estimating equations has contributed to racial disparities in kidney disease. The CAP has worked with laboratories across the United States to incorporate non-race-based reference values in testing protocols for kidney disease.

The CAP is also reviewing reference ranges for transgender individuals and assessing the use of the appropriate algorithm for cystic fibrosis testing in newborns.

In terms of federal health policy, provisions under the COVID-19 public health emergency concerning testing and presumptive eligibility will soon end. States currently have the option to provide Medicaid coverage for testing and related services to individuals who are uninsured and otherwise ineligible for Medicaid. This option would expire once the emergency ends next month, but Congress should consider making the option permanent and expand testing criteria to a broader range of communicable diseases.

The CAP has sought federal legislative opportunities, such as The Caring for Social Determinants Act (HR 1066) to address the impact of social determinants on patient health and access to health care.

The CAP provides a See, Test, & Treat program as a free cancer screening and health education program for medically underserved populations. See, Test, & Treat annually addresses social determinants of health by reducing barriers to care with same-day cervical and breast screening results to reduce multiple trips, free transportation, interpreter services, and free children’s activities during health care visits.