Legislation aims to expand National Asthma Control Program to all 50 states

Key takeaways:

• The program helps health departments ensure access to asthma care.
• The legislation directs collaboration with local and state health departments.
• The program will collect data pertaining to asthma.

Members of the Congressional Asthma and Allergy Caucus have reintroduced the Elijah E. Cummings Family Asthma Act, which would expand federal, state and local efforts to improve asthma care, according to a press release.

The legislation would expand the CDC’s National Asthma Control Program from the 23 states that currently participate in it to all 50 states.

The program helps health departments ensure the availability of and access to guidelines-based medical management and pharmacotherapy for all people with asthma.

Also, the legislation directs the CDC to collaborate with state and local health departments as well as with nonprofits to provide information and education to the public about asthma.

The legislation additionally requires the development of state plans for public responses to asthma, particularly for disproportionately affected populations, and mandates the collection and coordination of data about the impact of asthma.

“Michigan has one of the highest prevalence rates of asthma in the country, and action is needed to reduce the burden of this disease in my home state and across the country,” Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI), cosponsor of the bill, said in the press release.

Debbie Dingell

According to CDC data noted in the legislation, 25.3 million people including 4.2 million children in the United States have asthma, with disproportionate impacts among women and historically underrepresented communities as well as among the impoverished.

“The San Joaquin Valley suffers from some of the worst air quality in the nation, and as a result we have one of the highest rates of child asthma,” Rep. David Valadao (R-CA), another cosponsor of the bill, said in the press release.

Asthma also costs the United States approximately $81.9 billion each year in medical and productivity costs, including $3 billion due to more than 7.9 million school days and 10.9 million workdays missed annually.

Further, more than 4,100 people died of asthma in 2020, with higher rates of mortality among African Americans and women. There were approximately 183,000 hospitalizations and 1.6 million ED visits due to asthma in 2016 as well.

“This legislation not only acknowledges the profound impact of asthma on families but also provides a comprehensive framework to expand care, increase awareness and reduce the burden of this chronic respiratory condition,” Harold Wimmer, president and CEO of the American Lung Association, said in the press release.

“Federal, state and local asthma programs and health departments can play an integral role in developing strategies to reduce asthma triggers in communities,” Lynda Mitchell, MA, CAE, CEO of Allergy & Asthma Network, said in the press release.

The current draft of the legislation authorizes the appropriation of $70 million for fiscal years 2024 through 2028 to fund these activities.

“It takes all of us working together to ensure no more lives are needlessly lost to asthma,” Mitchell said.

Reference:

• To amend the Public Health Service Act with regard to research on asthma, and for other purposes. https://debbiedingell.house.gov/uploadedfiles/dingmi_050_xml.pdf. Published Sept. 20, 2023. Accessed Oct. 2, 2023.