Advocacy

The Association of Asthma Educators actively engages in Advocacy efforts on the behalf of its members in order to reduce asthma disparities and improve asthma outcomes.

Are you ready to take your advocacy efforts to the next level? Are you not sure how to begin? Our friends at Allergy and Asthma Network (AAN) have produced a helpful video, whether you are taking on Washington D.C.  or your local leaders.

Current Initiatives

Asthma Barriers to Underserved Populations

View a recording from 2019 of a webinar where Dr. Bukstein interviews Dr. Michael Bowman about this important topic.

Synopsis

  • By attending this webinar, members of the audience will be able to describe barriers that limit provision of guidelines-based asthma care to underserved populations and outline steps needed to recognize and improve management of children with asthma in schools.
  • In addition, since children spend a lot of time in schools, nurses and athletic personnel at schools are major potential resources which can be used to recognize and improve the care of children with asthma. Innovative approaches for management of asthma in schools will be discussed.

Length: 1 hour

Healthcare Plan Asthma Coverage Checklist

A Guide for Selecting Your/Your Child’s Healthcare Coverage

Each year, your patients can change their insurance or Medicaid plan for themselves and/or their child(ren). Each plan is different and one plan maybe be better than others. Download this checklist to share with your patients as a guide in choosing a plan best suited to their needs.

Past Initiatives

Legislative

AAE was a co-signer (with ALA, AAP, AAAAI and many others) in a letter that was sent to all Senators and Representatives in Washington DC to support funding for CDC’s National Asthma Control Program at $30.596 million for FY 2017.

Childhood Asthma Leadership Coalition (CALC)

AAE has been active in the Childhood Asthma Leadership Coalition (CALC) and, as such, has been instrumental in:

  1. Supporting the Elementary and Secondary School Act/Every Student Succeeds Act (ESEA) passed by Congress and signed into law December 2015. On page 206 a provision was added which will allow school districts to use some of their federal education block grants to pay for the development and implementation of school asthma management plans. Download letter by clicking here (PDF).
  2. Supporting the CMS/Medicaid rule change that allows non-providers to be reimbursed for asthma education. Download letter by clicking here (PDF).
  3. Asking HUD for smoke-free housing. Download letter by clicking here (PDF).
  4. Asking numerous government agencies to help in decreasing racial disparities and improving asthma outcomes. Download letter by clicking here. (PDF)
  5. Asking to extend CHIP funding. Download letter by clicking here (PDF).
  6. Asking the EPA to not move forward with a proposed rule requiring that pivotal studies would need to rely on data that are available “in a manner sufficient for independent validation.” Download letter by clicking here (PDF).

AAE asked key Senators to oppose the Freedom to Breathe Act, 2011, which would allow the reintroduction of Primatene Mist to the market. Download  letter by clicking here (PDF).