Washington Summit Promotes Value Of Distribution On Capitol Hill
Advocates Stress Preparedness & Supply Chain Issues In 115+ Meetings With Legislators
Alexandria, VA, June 24, 2022 – Leaders from across the healthcare distribution industry convened in Washington, D.C. last week for HIDA’s first in-person Washington Summit in three years.
At the opening breakfast of the Washington Summit, HIDA honored Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) as the recipient of the Preparedness Policy Excellence Award. Throughout his career, Senator Burr has been a leader in preparedness, including the 2006 passage of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA), which created the modern framework for responding to pandemics, biothreats, and natural disasters.
“I have spent my career writing preparedness legislation that we hope we never have to use,” Senator Burr said. “Were it not for what you do as distributors, we would not have been able to make as much progress as we have toward our goal of bringing critical health care supplies to every corner of every state. As we chart our way out of COVID, we need to update our preparedness plans for this decade and the decade to come.”
In more than 115 meetings on Capitol Hill, healthcare distribution advocates met with Senators and Representatives of both parties on a variety of legislative issues to boost preparedness and streamline the medical supply chain. These issues include:
- PREVENT Pandemics Act: This bipartisan legislation strengthens the nation’s public health and medical preparedness and response systems in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The PREVENT Pandemics Act recognizes the vital role of public-private partnerships in managing medical supplies during a pandemic, by incorporating a vendor-managed inventory component into the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS).
- Ocean Shipping Reform Act: HIDA applauded Congressional passage of the most comprehensive maritime legislation in 40 years. The new law empowers the Federal Maritime Commission to combat unfair trade practices in the shipping industry and addresses price gouging on container shipping fees by ocean carriers.
- Fast Pass: A Fast Pass Critical Cargo Pilot Program for Medical Supplies would authorize federal agencies to partner with ports and marine terminal operators to identify critical cargo and expedite its movement through the ports and across all modes of transportation.
- Strengthening America’s Strategic National Stockpile Act: A bill to boost domestic manufacturing to diversify sources of personal protective equipment (PPE). Provisions of this bill were incorporated into the bipartisan innovation package currently pending in conference committee.
About HIDA
HIDA is the industry trade association representing 118 distribution companies operating 500+ healthcare distribution centers across the care continuum nationwide. HIDA members deliver healthcare products and supplies, manage logistics, and offer customer services to virtually every healthcare provider. In 2020, they reliably delivered 51 billion units of PPE “the last mile” to providers. Visit HIDA.org.