Supplemental Oxygen Sample Press Release for Local Press Coverage
For Immediate Release
Contact: [Your Name], Society PR Person Email: [Your Email Address]
Local Respiratory Therapist Lobbies for Better Health Care in Washington, D.C.
City/State – [Day of the Week], [Date] – [Your Name & Credentials] traveled to Washington, D.C. with about 100 other respiratory therapists and patients to request members of Congress to support the Medicare Act.
[Your Last Name] is a respiratory therapist at [Name of Workplace] and lives in [Name of Residence City].
To help fix the problems created by the Medicare Competitive Bidding Program, the AARC has been working with a comprehensive coalition of oxygen stakeholders that includes providers, patients, and the durable medical equipment industry.
Of great importance to the respiratory care profession, the SOAR Act will establish a service benefit to pay respiratory therapists to see oxygen patients outside the care facility and in their home, which has never existed before under the durable medical equipment benefit. We ask you to co-sponsor this legislation to ensure anyone who requires supplemental oxygen can access the most appropriate type of oxygen equipment for their needs. Congress must prioritize patients and solve this problem.
The legislation is based on four pillars of reform:
- Ensure supplemental oxygen is patient-centric.
- Ensure access to liquid oxygen for patients for whom it is medically necessary.
- Create a statutory service element to provide adequate reimbursement for respiratory therapists to ensure patients have access to their expertise.
- To ensure predictable and adequate reimbursement and to protect against fraud and abuse, establish national standardized documentation requirements that rely upon a template rather than prescriber medical records to support claims for supplemental oxygen suppliers.
[Your Last Name] explains, “With the mounting costs to manage chronic diseases and avoid expensive exacerbations, [Your Last Name] met with [Name] and [Name] to ask their support for the Medicare Act. We think the timing is right to improve patients’ access to expanded telehealth services and in particular to the unique skills of respiratory therapists who are trained experts in the care of patients’ chronic respiratory diseases.”
[Your Last Name] is a member of the Political Advocacy Contact Team (PACT), a nationwide group of respiratory therapists and patients organized by the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) and the [Your State] Society for Respiratory Care to spearhead grassroots level advocacy efforts.
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About the AARC
The American Association for Respiratory Care, headquartered in Dallas, is a professional association of respiratory therapists that focuses primarily on respiratory therapy education and research. The organization’s goals are to ensure that respiratory patients receive safe and effective care from qualified professionals as well as supporting respiratory health care providers. Further information about the AARC and how to become a respiratory therapist is available at www.AARC.org.