To our Clients and Partners,On behalf of Avalon, we hope that your family, friends, team members, and plan members are safe andhealthy as we all work together to slow the spread of COVID-19. The health of our nation and the worldis of the utmost priority at this time. As the industrys only comprehensive Laboratory Benefit Manager, weclearly understand the importance of appropriate laboratory testing access and use.To assist you, we continue to stay abreast of the ramp up in COVID-19 testing availability. We haveidentified labs that are approved to perform testing, are working to expand capacity, and are identifyingappropriate pricing. The testing is complex and although there were few labs that could execute initially,most of them were already in Avalons network. We facilitated a discussion between FDA Commissioner,Dr. Steve Hahn and our Clinical Advisory Board Chair, and University of Washington School of MedicinesDepartment of Laboratory Medicines chair, Dr. Geoff Baird, that resulted in a more efficient COVID-19testing approval process. Avalon is also in contact with US Representative Gus Bilirakis, member of theHealth Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, regarding funding priorities tosupport the management of COVID-19 and maintaining system capacity to treat all patients. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-covid-19-update-fdaprovides-more-regulatory-relief-during-outbreak-continues-helpWe also realize that the supply chain, billing, and reimbursement infrastructure is essential to your plansand working with your laboratory networks. Avalon is keeping up to date with the coding and testingreimbursement procedures. Attached is the Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) pricing informationthat was recently released.Over the weeks ahead, we will work together and learn from each other to take the needed steps to limitthe spread of this virus and protect our communities. Avalon is committed to providing you withinformation that can help your plan lead and be there for your members.Below is a list of reputable sources that are being updated frequently: CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/cases-in-us.html World Health: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019 WorldOMeter: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ John Hopkins University Medical: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/Please let us know if you have any COVID-19 related questions or if you need any assistance with yourorganizations COVID-19 response. We are here to help.
Sincerely,William L. Kerr, MD,Chief Executive Officer
