AARC Participates in Capitol Hill Meetings with Ted and Grace Anne Dorney Koppel
September 28, 2007
The wife of well-known journalist Ted Koppel – Grace Anne Dorney Koppel – has been making quite a name for herself recently by going public with her battle against COPD. Her appearances on national television have helped raise awareness of the condition, and her personal stories about the benefits she received from pulmonary rehabilitation are resonating with people across the country.
AARC Legislative Affairs Representative Miriam O'Day and Senator Crapo's Press Secretary Susan Wheeler visited with Grace Anne Dorney Koppel at the senator's office.
Most recently, the Koppels attended a series of meetings with members and staff of the Senate Finance Committee, where they discussed the need to pass S 329, the bill currently pending in the Senate to require Medicare to cover pulmonary rehabilitation as an outpatient service.
The AARC was on hand for these important sessions, represented by Executive Director Sam Giordano, MBA, RRT, FAARC, and Miriam O’Day, senior director of public policy for the COPD Foundation and legislative affairs representative for the AARC.
Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon met with Mr. and Mrs. Ted Koppel.
“Ted Koppel and Grace Anne Dorney Koppel came to Capitol Hill to meet with members of the Senate Finance Committee to discuss making pulmonary rehabilitation a permanent Medicare benefit,” says O’Day. “Grace Anne Dorney Koppel has made an important contribution to the National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute ‘Learn More Breathe Better’ COPD Awareness and Education Campaign.”
The meetings were organized under the auspices of the U.S. COPD Coalition, where Giordano sits on the Executive Committee and brings the respiratory therapist’s views to the table in any discussions. John W. Walsh, president and CEO of the COPD Foundation, Gary Ewart, director of government relations for the American Thoracic Society, and Carl Jensen, legislative assistant, were on hand as well.
Meetings took place with Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID), chair of the Congressional COPD Caucus, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), Senate health staff from the offices of Sen. Crapo and Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), and senior staff of the Senate Finance Committee on behalf of Senate Finance Chair Max Baucus (D-MT).
You can do your part to encourage passage of S 329, and its companion bill in the House of Representatives, HR 552, by going to the AARC’s Capitol Connection web site.
The Koppels visited with Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho.