Are You Ready for Some Action? Giving Voice to the Value and Vision

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An esteemed colleague in ASCLS who is a clinical laboratory science educator recently stated in a presentation that she used to think education was the most important thing that ASCLS did – but now she thinks it's advocacy. This is not the first time this column has urged activism by ASCLS members and their colleagues, but events in the next year will mandate even more dedication than in the past. With apologies to Monday Night Football – are you ready for some action?

The messages were clear at several sessions at the ASCLS Annual Meeting in Los Angeles July 27–31, 2004. The laboratory community is threatened by a number of current and anticipated initiatives, and we need to come out from our laboratories and be heard as never before.

ASCLS and the Clinical Laboratory Coalition had some success in 2003, as detailed in articles in ASCLS Today. We can be justifiably proud of ASCLS's advocacy efforts as the House and Senate worked on the massive Medicare Reform Bill, known as the Prescription Drug and Modernization Act of 2003 (HR1). ASCLS worked very hard, in collaboration with other laboratory organizations that are part of the Clinical Laboratory Coalition, to ensure that the proposed 20% co-pay for laboratory tests was removed from the version that eventually passed.

Getting the attention of the House and Senate conferees on one item in such a large complex bill was a real challenge. ASCLS members called, wrote, emailed, attended town meetings, and made visits to their…