Protecting Lab Access is Vital to Nation’s Health Goals

Rising health care costs dominate the headlines and more urgently, the minds of millions of Americans. At the center of this debate is how the health system can provide the vital services that patients need for diagnosis and management of their illnesses, especially chronic conditions. Nearly 150 million Americans are living with a chronic condition, including diabetes, heart disease or cancer, which requires routine – and sometimes daily – access to lab services to monitor and manage their health. What amounts to a relatively small cost – less than $10 for tests commonly used to monitor diabetes, for example – makes it possible to avoid expensive, invasive trips to the emergency room.