PSRC Gets Results in Adding RTs to the Smoking-Cessation Mix

May 14, 2002
In a proactive move by the Pennsylvania Society for Respiratory Care (PSRC), state president Vicki Harter, RRT, asked for clarification on or an amendment to a Medicaid policy that did not specifically allow RTs to be reimbursed for providing smoking-cessation courses. In late April, the letter paid off.

“The PSRC has our congratulations,” says AARC Executive Director Sam Giordano, MBA, RRT, FAARC. “The AARC has encouraged state societies to go after some of the tobacco settlement funds for smoking-cessations programs and smoking-related illnesses. It’s great to see the PSRC doing just that.”

Harter says that this is the first recognition of RTs by Pennsylvania medical assistance. She adds that it provides a platform to request reimbursement for other respiratory-related services and may increase the recognition of RTs as providers of services outside the acute care setting.

Harter explains that the technique was simple - the AARC executive office informed us of the opportunity and we wrote a letter.

“This is AARC President Peg Traband’s ‘butterfly theory’ in action. It was a little effort that paid off in a big way,” Harter says. “In fact, I believe that this is the beginning of more positive outcomes as RTs continue to strive to receive recognition and reimbursement for their services in home care.”