AARC Virtual Lobby Campaign

AARC Virtual Lobby Campaign Reboot — May 14–23, 2019

H.R. 2508, the Better Respiration through Expanding Access to Tele-Health Act, (the BREATHE Act)

As a follow-up up to a very successful Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill April 9, 2019, and our previous Virtual Lobby Campaign in which we set new records both in the number of advocates who participated and the number of messages sent to the Hill, we are excited to advocate for our bill which has now been officially introduced into Congress. And that means a new Virtual Lobby Campaign.

What do we want Congress to do?

Ask House members to Co-Sponsor the BREATHE Act
Ask Senators to Introduce Senate Companion Legislation

We are very pleased to have Representative Mike Thompson (D/CA) introduce the BREATHE Act, H.R. 2508, on May 2, 2019, along with Representatives T. J. Cox, (D/CA), Mike Kelly (R/PA) and Buddy Carter (R/GA).

To recap, this legislation is a 3-year pilot that allows respiratory therapists to furnish disease management services, such as self-management education and training, demonstration/evaluation of proper inhaler techniques, smoking cessation and remote patient monitoring to Medicare beneficiaries with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Its purpose is to demonstrate the value RTs bring to the health care system and their patients through improved health outcomes and lower costs and to identify RTs as telehealth practitioners in the Medicare statute.

The AARC Social Media Toolkit has the resources you need to spread the word on Facebook and Twitter.

So How Can You Help?

Take action now by contacting your Congressional leaders. It’s important that Congress hear from RTs, RT students, patients, physicians and other supporters of the respiratory profession, including caregivers. We have drafted messages for you to send, but we encourage you to personalize them because a personalized message has the most impact.

This is an exciting time as the recognition of respiratory therapists by Congressional leaders is gaining momentum. Don’t delay — get started now!