AARC PACT Makes Seventh Trip Up Capitol Hill
March 6, 2007
Washington, DC, heard from the respiratory care profession this week, as more than 115 members of the AARC’s Political Advocacy Contact Team (PACT) marched up Capitol Hill on Tuesday to visit with their members of Congress on issues important to respiratory therapists and their patients.
Together these volunteers visited more than 300 congressional offices, educating legislators and legislative staff alike on the AARC’s legislative agenda for 2007.
All this despite zero degree wind chill that greeted the group as they marched around the district.
“Top priorities included garnering support for bills pending in Congress to require national Medicare coverage for pulmonary rehabilitation and repeal the requirement that turns ownership of home oxygen equipment over to the Medicare beneficiary after 36 months of rental, and urging members to join the Congressional COPD Caucus,” says AARC Director of Government Affairs Cheryl West, who led the effort.
PACT members also spent time discussing with their legislators the AARC’s new Medicare Respiratory Therapy Initiative, which will allow respiratory therapists with an RRT and a bachelor’s degree to deliver respiratory care services without the physician being present when the services are being furnished.
“Reports are still coming in, but the initial response we’re hearing from the PACT members is extremely positive,” says West. “Many of our members tell us these repeated visits – this is the seventh year in a row we’ve hosted a Capitol Hill Lobby Day – are paying off with increased recognition of respiratory therapists and increased responsiveness for our issues.”
In many cases, continues West, PACT members no longer have to spend much time educating their members of Congress or their legislative staffs on the profession itself, because they are already well acquainted with the field from the previous visits. “This means they can spend the majority of their time educating them on legislative initiatives that will ultimately benefit their constituents with respiratory conditions,” she says.
The Tuesday blitz on Capitol Hill was preceded by a day-long round of presentations on Monday aimed at preparing the PACT members for their legislative visits. For most in the room, the highlight of the event came when they were welcomed to the nation’s capitol by Rep. David Davis, RRT, a new member of Congress from Tennessee who is also a respiratory therapist. Rep. Davis wished the group well and offered his support for many of the AARC’s initiatives.
Monday’s event also featured Eric Rasmussen, from Sen. Michael Crapo’s office, who provided an overview of the COPD Coalition, and Gary Ewart, from the American Thoracic Society, who addressed congressional dynamics and the legislative process. Paul Billings, from the American Lung Association, covered the importance of constituents in the congressional process, and Elsa Anders, Alpha-1 Association Support Group leader, and Vlady Rozenbaum, PhD, founder of COPD Alert, were on hand to share COPD patient perspectives.
West joined the AARC’s Washington, DC, lobbyist, Miriam O’Day in detailing the AARC’s agenda, and the group also heard from AARC President Toni Rodriguez, EdD, RRT, and Executive Director Sam Giordano, MBA, RRT, FAARC. Long-time PACT members John Campbell, MBA, RRT-NPS, RPFT, and Frank Salvatore, Jr., BS, RRT, FAARC, helped the group get down to the nitty-gritty by offering insights from their years of experience making the Capitol Hill visits.
“Once again the AARC has proven itself capable of delivering a strong message to our nation’s leaders,” says West, “and we owe a great debt of gratitude to the PACT members who made the trip and delivered that message to congressional offices.”
She calls on all respiratory therapists to follow their lead by taking time to visit the AARC’s Capitol Connection web site to learn more about the 2007 legislative agenda and use the resources there to write their own members of Congress in support.
