February 19, 2009

House Joins Senate in Reintroducing RT Legislation
The AARC’s Medicare Respiratory Therapy Initiative was reintroduced into the Senate on Jan. 30. This week, the House of Representatives followed suit. S 343/HR 1077 seeks to revise the Medicare law to permit qualified respiratory therapists to provide certain services, such as smoking cessation, asthma management, medication education, and inhaler training, under the general supervision of a physician.

PACT Heading Back Up Capitol Hill
The newly reintroduced RT legislation will be topping the agenda this March as members of the AARC’s Political Advocacy Contact Team make their annual visit to Capitol Hill. The trip is planned for Mar. 9-10, but now is the time for you to offer your support. Write your legislators about S 343/HR 1077 today so they’ll already know folks back home support the bills when the PACT reps come to town.

You patients can weigh in too by going to www.YourLungHealth.org.

ASME Certification Can Help You Take Advantage of CPT Codes for Asthma Education
New CPT codes for asthma education call for programs to be certified by a professional organization. The AARC has responded with its new Asthma Self Management Education (ASME) certification program. Click on the link to read more about the new certification and how you can put it to work for your program.

And There’s More… A COPD Educator Course on May 6
The first offering of a new COPD Educator Course will be held in conjunction with the Florida Society for Respiratory Care convention. Be among the first to participate in a course that helps you be a better patient educator on the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. We suggest you tag on a day or two for the FSRC Convention as well.

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