NILA Joins Capitol Hill Day in Support of SALSA

On Thursday, June 8, 2023, NILA’s Washington representatives participated in a Capitol Hill advocacy day with other laboratory and consumer stakeholder groups to call for support of the Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act (SALSA). The groups visited several of the legislation’s sponsoring offices to discuss strategies for moving the legislation forward, as well as offices targeted for co-sponsorship of the bill. Participants were able to share a new resource, a letter organized by the National Consumers League and RetireSafe signed by 37 consumer organizations supporting SALSA. Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle understand the need to repair the flawed implementation of PAMA, and there is widespread support for the long-term, sustainable approach of SALSA. However, concerns about the legislation’s cost remain.

Legislators need to hear from constituents to reinforce the need for SALSA and to grow support for the bill. A long, bipartisan list of cosponsors will be instrumental in passing SALSA before the end of the calendar year to protect laboratories from scheduled cuts in January 2024. NILA previously shared resources to assist members in contacting legislators in support of SALSA. Please continue to reach out by telephone and/or email and urge your representative and senators to cosponsor SALSA. Tips for congressional outreach are available on NILA’s website here. Please share the results of your outreach with NILA at nila@nila-usa.org.