The AARC's Virtual Lobby Campaign for respiratory therapists is under way, and continues through April 30. The AARC is asking members to contact their Congressional representatives in support of two important pieces of legisation.

The CONNECT (Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies) for Health Act includes provisions to permanently expand access to telehealth. "Specifically, it promotes increased access to telehealth services by health care professionals, such as respiratory therapists (RTs), who are not currently described as eligible practitioners in the Medicare program’s telehealth benefit, as part of new payment models being tested by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center," according to the AARC.

The AARC expects this legislation to be reintroduced in both the House and Senate in spring 2021.

The Allied Health Workers Diversity Act was first introduced in 2019 to improve educational opportunities for underrepresented populations in the allied health workforce. The reintroduced bill will include grant and scholarship opportunities for respiratory therapists.

For more information, go to the AARC's virtual lobby page: https://www.aarc.org/advocacy/congressional-legislation/aarc-virtual-lobby-campaign/