APC Statements and Reports
2021
| Date |
Title |
| May 28 |
APC Issues a Statement on Fellowship Recruitment Practices
Consistent with APC’s advocacy priority to “collect data on unexpected fellowship openings and resident concerns about the fellowship recruitment process to inform recommendations for systemic changes”, APC Council and PRODS Council have noted and discussed the increasing numbers of unexpected fellowship openings (defined as fellows withdrawing their commitments within 18 months of matriculation). The Councils jointly approved a statement concerning this urgent matter. Member feedback is welcomed at [email protected]. |
| May 25 |
APC Supports the ACLU’s Efforts Against Gene Patenting
APC signed onto the American Civil Liberties Union’s coalition letter to the Biden Administration against gene patenting and related issues. The letter expresses opposition to legislation and regulatory action that would overturn established Supreme Court precedent and expand patent-eligible subject matter to encompass abstract ideas, laws of nature, and natural phenomena. Click here to read the full letter. |
| May 18 |
APC Joins AMP in Supporting Reintroduction of the VITAL Act
APC previously endorsed the Verified Innovative Testing in American Laboratories (VITAL) Act, which would codify current federal regulations that place oversight of laboratory developed tests (LDTs) under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). In cooperation with the Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP), APC submitted a letter of support for reintroduction of VITAL to the bill’s sponsor, Senator Rand Paul. On May 17th, Senator Paul reintroduced this legislation. APC and AMP released a joint statement of support on May 18th and urged Congress to pass this very important piece of legislation. |
| April 5 |
APC Supports the VITAL Act: APC endorses the Verified Innovative Testing in American Laboratories (VITAL) Act, which would codify current federal regulations that place oversight of laboratory-developed tests (LDTs) under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). In cooperation with the Association for Molecular Pathology, APC submitted a letter of support for reintroduction of VITAL to the bill’s sponsor, Senator Rand Paul. |
| March 15 |
APC Supports Comments to the Federal Registrar: APC joined ADASP, ASCP, and CAP in endorsing comments submitted by the Association for Pathology Informatics (API) to the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on making permanent regulatory flexibilities provided during the COVID-19 public health emergency by exempting certain medical devices from premarket notification requirements, including several devices used in remote and digital pathology. |
| March 11 |
NIH Capitol Hill Day Report: Representing APC and the Research Committee, Dr. Daniel Remick attended an annual Capitol Hill Day hosted by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) on March 11, 2021. This year’s participants met virtually with Congressional staff to advocate for additional funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Click here to read Dr. Remick’s report. |
| March 8 |
APC Supports Additional HRSA Funding: Again, in 2021, APC joined fellow Friends of HRSA and the Health Professions and Nursing Education Coalition in support of funding for the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), including $1.51 billion for the Title VII health professions and Title VIII nursing workforce development programs and $9.2 billion for HRSA to sustain their important work in medical workforce pipeline research and development. |
| February 9 |
APC Supports Tracking COVID-19 Variants Act: APC signed on to a letter of support for the Tracking COVID-19 Variants Act. The bill aims to provide supplemental funding to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to expand sequencing. The bill is supported by the American Society for Microbiology, Association for Molecular Pathology and University of California Health. Funding is intended to be broad-based, including academic labs, especially those already engaged in CDC’s SPHERES program. |
| January 29 |
APC Supports FY22 National Institutes of Health Funding: APC signed on to a letter of support organized by the Association of American Medical Colleges’ Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research. The letter recommends for FY22 a program level of at least $46.111 billion, which represents a $3.177 billion increase over the comparable FY21 funding level, which would allow for the NIH’s base budget to keep pace with the biomedical research and development price index (BRDPI) and allow meaningful growth of 5%. The letter also advocates for emergency supplemental funding to support COVID-19-related expenses associated with both pandemic- and non-pandemic research and the research workforce pipeline.
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| January 18 |
2021 APC Advocacy Priorities: In cooperation with APC’s Advocacy Committee, which consists of representatives from the Graduate Medical Education, Practice & Management, Research, and Undergraduate Medical Education Committees, APC Council issued APC’s 2021 Advocacy Priorities. |
2020
| Date |
Title |
| December 4 |
The Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research Letter on NIH to President-Elect Biden |
| November 24 |
FY2021 CDC Funding Coalition Letter |
| October 30 |
Novel Testing White Paper |
| October 19 |
Comments on Proposed Visa Changes Impacting Trainees: APC submitted comments in opposition to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s proposed rule of establishing a fixed time period for certain classes of non-immigrant visas, including J-1 visas. The response emphasizes, “Due to the uncertainty of outcomes in applications for extension, APC anticipates crippling disruptions to resident and fellow training in pathology, with devastating impact on the pipeline of pathologists in the U.S." |
| October 5 |
E&M Coalition Letter to CMS: APC joined nearly 50 professional medical organizations as part of the Evaluation and Management (E&M) Coalition, led by the American College of Radiology, in signing a letter requesting CMS to take the necessary steps to prevent steep cuts associated with the finalized E/M code policies slated for implementation on January 1, 2021. |
| September 9 |
Testimony in the ACGME External Stakeholders Congress: Leaders of the APC GME Committee, PRODS Council, and GMEAS Council are preparing to give testimony in the ACGME External Stakeholders Congress on November 10, 2020. Their testimony will be based on APC’s comments to ACGME on Common and specialty-specific Program Requirements relating to duties, functions, dedicated time, and support for program directors, assistant/associate program directors, program coordinators, and core faculty members. |
| July 30 |
Statement on the Value of Academic Labs and Their Supply Chain Issues During the 2020 COVID-19 Outbreak in the United States: The goal of this APC statement is to articulate the unequivocal value that academic labs can have in the nation’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, but whose participation in that recovery has been handicapped by the prevalence and persistence of an unstable supply chain for reagents.
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| February 26 |
FY2021 CDC Funding Support Letter |
| February 26 |
FY2021 HRSA Funding Support Letter |
2019
Previous Statements and Reports from past years will be posted here!
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