Comment Letter on Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA) Reauthorization

The Robert J. Margolis, MD, Center for Health Policy at Duke University (“Duke-Margolis” or “the Center”) appreciates this opportunity to provide comments and recommendations ahead of anticipated reauthorization of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA). This important legislative vehicle is a vital next step in renewing our shared national commitments to not only disaster preparedness and response, but also to a host of challenge areas in antimicrobial stewardship, supply chain and manufacturing capabilities, national security, and the future of public health and health care coordination. The Center applauds this committee and their counterparts in the United States House of Representatives for advancing it.

The recommendations provided herein are based on longstanding research, analysis, and engagement efforts at the Center that span a number of our portfolios. Comments related to bacterial threats and antimicrobial resistance stem from collaborations and reports in our Drug Resistant Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance portfolio. Recommendations on supply chain readiness and manufacturing capacity are the basis of our newly-launched Drug Supply Chain Resilience and Advanced Manufacturing Consortium. Many of these comments are also rooted in the last three years of significant COVID-19 response policy work undertaken by the Center and its policy team – work that is actively being fed forward into a new strategic portfolio centered on 21st Century Public and Population Health reforms.

Our team is also submitting a joint comment letter with the Healthcare Leadership Council (HLC) representing our two organizations’ ongoing work in the disaster response and preparedness space. This work has been inclusive of a cornerstone report issued in February 2021 outlining a broad set of recommendations for improving data and evidence generation, strengthening innovation and supply chain readiness, and advancing resilient care delivery approaches – all to support sustained and equitable response to current and future health-related disasters. Duke-Margolis and HLC are actively refining an updated set of recommendations in this space to be published this spring.

Across these portfolios and policy efforts, Duke-Margolis synthesizes insights generated from robust stakeholder engagement and convening with evidence from multidisciplinary research and analysis to put forward actionable, bipartisan policy recommendations. Our team stands ready to work with you and your staff on these issues or any other issues of strategic importance to HELP and the nation in the coming weeks and months.

Read the full letter here.