On September 25, 2024, the Medical Laboratory Personnel Shortage Relief Act of 2024 (H.R.9849) was introduced in the House of Representatives by Congresswoman Deborah Ross (D-NC). H.R.9849 would add medical laboratory professionals to the National Health Service Corps and provide grants to accredited institutions to train more personnel. This legislation will support patients by helping to address the current national shortage of clinical laboratory professionals.

Ensuring access to quality health care services demands that the health care system have an adequate supply of medical laboratory scientists (MLS) and medical laboratory technicians (MLT). Today the pool is already seriously short of what is needed and is estimated to become critical as the U.S. population ages. This shortage hampers the ability of clinical laboratories to meet the growing need for appropriate testing, impeding the ability of clinicians to diagnose and treat patients. An ever-increasing patient population and the number and complexity of medical laboratory tests strain the profession. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has heightened these concerns as workload increases lead to burnout for some laboratory personnel.