Newswise — Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA), the leading patient advocacy group for allergy and asthma, is calling on Congress to stop asthma deaths and eliminate wasteful and counterproductive spending now.
On May 6, 2009, the organization will host its 12th annual Asthma Awareness Day Capitol Hill to support disease-specific and patient-centric healthcare reform initiatives that will save lives and money. Members of congress and the media are invited to a breakfast briefing to meet families whose life and death stories demonstrate need for action, healthcare experts whose programs currently save lives and money in America's lowest income, hardest hit populations, and nonprofit organizations who provide free quality services to patients.
The breakfast briefing begins at 8.30 am, followed by an asthma screening and health expo in the Rayburn House Office Building Foyer at 11:00 am. Free asthma screenings, lung function tests, state-of-the-art exhaled nitric oxide testing, and consultations with allergists are all offered as AANMA partners with the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI) to kick off ACAAI's 2009 Nationwide Asthma Screening Program.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), asthma affects 23 million Americans and causes 3,884 deaths a year. It also takes an enormous daily toll on families, causing people to miss 10.1 million days of work and 12.8 million days of school. When you add healthcare costs and lost productivity, asthma costs the U.S. $14 billion a year.
It doesn't have to be this way. Numerous studies show that following proven asthma treatment guidelines saves both money and lives. "Fixing asthma is not a mystery," says Nancy Sander, AANMA president and founder. "We have national diagnostic and treatment guidelines, safe and effective medications, and research that shows that optimally controlling symptoms requires less medication and medical intervention than treating smoldering symptoms and exacerbations. Eliminating asthma deaths and promoting financially responsible asthma treatment plans is not only possible " it is long overdue."
About AANMAFounded in 1985, Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics is the leading national nonprofit family organization dedicated to eliminating suffering and death due to asthma, allergies and related conditions. AANMA's core areas of expertise are education, advocacy and outreach. The organization's www.aanma.org website and award-winning publications, Allergy & Asthma Today magazine and The MA Report newsletter, are consumer lifelines to medical news and healthy living. For more information, call 800.878.4403 or visit www.aanma.org.
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