As HIDA members prepare to meet with our elected representatives in Congress during our annual Washington Summit, we continue to advocate for passage of S. 3799, the Prepare for and Respond to Existing Viruses, Emerging New Threats, and Pandemics Act (PREVENT Pandemics Act).
PREVENT Pandemics Has Bipartisan Support in Congress
The PREVENT Pandemics Act was introduced by Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Richard Burr (R-NC). It is intended to be a comprehensive, bipartisan legislative effort to apply lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic to strengthen medical supply chains and public health preparedness.
- HIDA has worked closely with staff in the offices of Senators Murray and Burr to incorporate policy recommendations from the health distribution industry.
- Drafting this bill is the fulfillment of years of collaboration with federal partners on preparedness and the medical supply chain.
- In March, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee approved the PREVENT Pandemics Act on a bipartisan vote of 20 to 2.
PREVENT Pandemics Creates a Partnership Between Public and Private Sectors
The PREVENT Pandemics Act recognizes the vital role of public-private partnerships in managing medical supplies during a pandemic. Government and the private sector should work together to build a cushion of medical supplies to meet the immediate needs of providers, while giving manufacturers critical time to surge production.
- Federal policymakers should embrace its role to fully fund and expand the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS).
- Meanwhile, the SNS must work with private-sector distributors to sustain, rotate and replenish their stores of critical supplies.
- To invest in capacity, manufacturers need certainty that there will be long-term market demand for certain medical supplies. The Federal government should make long-term contracting commitments to manufacturing partners.
PREVENT Pandemics Makes Political Sense to Voters of All Parties
The PREVENT Pandemics Act is focused on strengthening the nation’s public health and medical preparedness and response systems in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. A majority of voters – of all political persuasions – support preparedness measures to prevent and mitigate future pandemics.
- A poll conducted by Data for Progress on behalf of the organization Guarding Against Pandemics found that 69% of likely voters were either very concerned or somewhat concerned about the emergence of a future pandemic.
- Support for preparedness crossed party lines. This included 82% of Democrats, 55% of Republicans and 69% of independent voters.
- Among the preparedness measures most supported by voters were access to up-to-date treatments, improvements in vaccine administration, and investment in technologies that stop the spread of disease.
HIDA has welcomed the introduction of the PREVENT Pandemics Act, and has continued to share our input with Congress on these issues. Medical products distributors have unique subject matter expertise on this topic. HIDA members deliver medical products and supplies, manage logistics, and offer customer services to virtually every healthcare provider. Future preparedness efforts need to harness the best from the public sector and the private sector. As Congress continues to deliberate on these critical issues, HIDA is proud to remain a voice for our industry and be part of the solution in Washington and beyond.