Asthma Policy & Advocacy

Learn about programs and policies that can help improve the lives of people with asthma.

Asthma affects 24.8 million people, including 5.5 million children, and accounts for millions of emergency department visits and tens of billions in healthcare costs each year. Find out more about some of the American Lung Association’s policy initiatives to reduce the burden of asthma.

National Asthma Public Policy Agenda

The Lung Association worked with a number of asthma experts and organizations to identify policy changes that will make a difference in improving the lives of people with asthma. Updated in 2022, the National Asthma Public Policy Agenda includes recommended strategies in these six key areas:

  • Healthcare Systems and Financing
  • Homes
  • Outdoor Air
  • Public Health Infrastructure
  • Schools
  • Workplaces

Learn more about the Agenda and each of these components.

Asthma Care Coverage Initiative

A key component of the National Asthma Public Policy Agenda is ensuring that people with asthma have access to treatments and services recommended by the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) guidelines. Our Asthma Care Coverage Initiative works to increase awareness about the importance of coverage for guidelines-based care. In 2015, we launched the Asthma Guidelines-Based Care Coverage Project and began tracking the coverage and related barriers to asthma guidelines-based care in state Medicaid programs. The Lung Association’s work on asthma care coverage includes the status of Medicaid coverage of key treatments and services for patients with asthma in your state.

Learn more about the Asthma Care Coverage Initiative

Asthma Advocacy

The Lung Association actively advocates for policies to benefit people with asthma and their families. For example, at the federal level, the Lung Association led the campaign to save the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Asthma Control Program from elimination. We continue our leadership by working with champions on Capitol Hill to increase funding for state programs, reducing asthma's terrible burden in our communities.

Learn more about our federal asthma advocacy.

The Lung Association also recommends some specific policies that all state and local communities need to act on to help fight asthma. Learn More

Page last updated: November 17, 2022

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