In letters to federal legislators, the CAP stated its support for bipartisan legislation that brings health care agencies together to tackle social determinants of health and improve outcomes for the patients pathologists serve. In another piece of bicameral legislation, the CAP supported efforts to coordinate health data at federal and state levels, including data derived from laboratories, by enhancing electronic reporting and syndromic surveillance.

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 is engaged with these agencies on discussions involving laboratory data to represent pathologists and the laboratories they direct.

In an August 24 letter, the CAP wrote to Reps. Cheri Bustos (D-IL), Tom Cole (R-OK), Jim McGovern (D-MA), and Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) in support of the Social Determinants Accelerator Act of 2021. The legislation would establish an interagency council under the Department of Health and Human Services on social determinants of health in the Medicaid program that impact patient health outcomes. “Given the various health programs, initiatives, rules, and regulations, the establishment of an inter-agency technical advisory committee is needed to help states and communities leverage and access existing programs and authorities to improve health outcomes in the Medicaid program by developing plans to address social determinants of health,” said CAP President Patrick Godbey, MD, FCAP in the letter.

In letters to Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) and Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA), the CAP stated its support for the Improving Social Determinants of Health Act, which they introduced in their respective chambers. Their legislation would coordinate social determinants of health efforts at the CDC. This includes collecting and analyzing data to provide support to local public health departments and organizations addressing these issues across the country.

“The CAP supports efforts to develop policy solutions that would enhance electronic reporting and syndromic surveillance,” Dr. Godbey said. “Better coordination at the federal and state levels of health data would strengthen our nation’s response to health equity.”