
Webinar: International Survey Highlights Patient Opinions About Tobacco Industry Ownership of Pharmaceutical Companies
Join medical and scientific experts and patient representatives from the COPD Foundation and as they share survey results, highlight the patients’ voices, and discuss shared decision-making between provider and patient. Discover how the patient community views the tobacco industry’s ownership of pharma companies that create respiratory therapeutics. This virtual event is ideal for patients, family members, and health care providers.

The webinar, which is a joint adventure between the US COPD Coalition and the COPD Foundation, will be broadcast live at 4:00 pm Eastern on Tuesday, November 1, 2022.
Click on the button below to register for this free webinar:

Benefits of Pulmonary Rehabilitation in COPD: A Review of Recent Literature

The US COPD Coalition was honored to feature Allison Cihla, MD, Medical Director of Intensive Care and Cardiopulmonary Services at Preston Memorial Hospital in Kingwood, WV, as she presented an excellent review of the latest literature on the benefits of pulmonary rehabilitation for patients with COPD.
Topics covered include:
- Learn about recent research in the field of pulmonary rehabilitation.
- Is pulmonary rehabilitation available everywhere?
- How do participants benefit?
- Are there benefits beyond the respiratory system?
- Is there value in maintenance programs?
- How can we effectively deliver pulmonary rehabilitation during the COVID-19 pandemic?
- Explore these questions and more.
In addition to the topics listed above, Dr. Cihla answered many questions about pulmonary rehabilitation that were asked by webinar attendees.
Click on the button below to view the recording of this very informative webinar.
View or download PDF version of webinar slides:

“COVID-19: Info You Can Trust” Webinar

What is the latest COVID-19 update? What should I know about the new strain of the virus? What do I need to know before getting a vaccine? Where do I go for answers and information that I can trust?
We are nearly a full year into the COVID-19 pandemic, and we now have a deluge of information to consider. Many questions are emerging concerning reliable information relating to detection, treatment, vaccines, vaccine reactions, as well as personal protection activities.
The US COPD Coalition (USCC) is honored to present “COVID-19: Info You Can Trust”. This informative webinar features Albert Rizzo, MD, FACP, Chief Medical Officer for the American Lung Association and member of the US COPD Coalition Board of Directors. Dr. Rizzo gave an excellent overview of COVID-19, how it spreads, how to protected yourself, and up-to-date information on where we stand with current and future vaccines. He also provided science-based answers to the questions listed above (and many more).
Click on this link to view the webinar:

“Updates to Medicare Coverage of Durable Medical Equipment and Other Devices” Webinar

The US COPD Coalition was pleased to present our the webinar, “Updates to Medicare Coverage of Durable Medical Equipment and Other Devices“, which featured speakers from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The webinar was broadcast live on Thursday, November 19, 2020 at 3:00 pm Eastern. A recording of the webinar is now available for viewing.
This free webinar provides an overview to beneficiaries on the Medicare publication titled Medicare Coverage of Durable Medical Equipment and Other Devices (pub.11045).
Updates were made to this publication in August 2020 in order to better meet the needs of Medicare beneficiaries, and we will review those updates. Our guest speakers are Tangita Daramola, Competitive Acquisition Ombudsman for CMS and her colleague Barbara McCoy, Associate Ombudsman for CMS. Tangita and Barbara discussed the updates that have been made to the publication with a special focus on respiratory durable medical equipment issues. They also cover resources available to Medicare beneficiaries, where beneficiaries can go to obtain assistance, and answered questions from participants.

“COPD and the Benefits of Pulmonary Rehabilitation”

The US COPD Coalition presented part two of our free webinar series on July 1, 2020 and the recording of the webinar is now available for viewing. The webinar, COPD and the Benefits of Pulmonary Rehabilitation, focused on helping COPD patients understand COPD and how stay healthy as we continue to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our guest speaker was Brian Tiep, MD. Dr. Tiep, one of the nation’s foremost authorities on chronic lung disease, discussed COPD and related conditions and the benefits of pulmonary rehabilitation practiced on a daily basis – which he stresses is particularly important at this time of COVID-19.
View the webinar featuring Dr. Tiep here: COPD and the Benefits of Pulmonary Rehabilitation

“Coping with Stress in Difficult Times”

If you were unable to join the US COPD Coalition live for our webinar, Coping with Stress in Diffiicult Times, you can watch it in its entirety by clicking on the link below. We were pleased to have as our featured speaker Arpi Minassian, Ph.D. Dr. Minassian discussed stress and where it comes from, as well has how to recognize signs of stress and anxiety. She also discussed tips for how to cope with emotional distress related to chronic medical conditions as well as the difficult times we are all facing.
We encourage you to view the webinar, and share it with anyone you feel would benefit from the very useful information that Dr. Minassian shared.
View the webinar featuring Dr. Minassian here: Coping with Stress in Difficult Times

Oxygen Webinars – Parts 1, 2, and 3
The US COPD Coalition recently hosted a series of three webinars addressing home oxygen issues. Click on the links below to access the individual webinars. Note that you will be required to register in order to view the webinars.
Oxygen Webinar, Part 1 – Medicare and Oxygen Coverage (October 16, 2019)
Oxygen Webinar, Part 2 – Supplemental Oxygen Systems (November 22, 2019)
Oxygen Webinar, Part 3 (February 27, 2020)
To view and download webinar slides, Q & A, and other documents from the webinars, scroll down the USCC website’s “Webinars” page to the dates of the webinars, and you will find the links.

Oxygen Webinar – Part 3 Recording Now Available
The U.S. COPD Coalition presented the third and final installment of our oxygen webinar series on Thursday, February 27, 2020. The recording of the webinar is now available for viewing (see the link below).
Our first webinar in October featured officials from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), who provided information intended to lead to better understanding of the Medicare oxygen coverage requirements. Our second webinar in the series, held in November, featured a pulmonologist, a pulmonary rehabilitation nurse, and an oxygen patient who discussed ways to optimize the use of supplemental oxygen systems to improve your respiratory quality of life. Our final webinar featured durable medical equipment (DME) suppliers and the CMS ombudsman.
For our third webinar, we were honored to have as our panelists Registered Respiratory Therapists Joseph Lewarski, MHA, RRT, FAARC, and Angela King, RPFT, RRT-NPS. Mr. Lewarski is Senior Vice President/General Manager, Global Business-Clinical Care & North American Manufacturing Operations for Drive DeVilbiss Healthcare. Ms.King is the Owner/CEO and Vice-President of Clinical Services with Mobile Medical Homecare. We will also be joined by Tangita Daramola, Competitive Acquisition Ombudsman for the US Department of Health and Human Services. The goal of this webinar was to improve understanding, collaboration and cooperation between beneficiaries and DME suppliers under current rules.
Please click on this link to view the webinar recording: Oxygen Webinar – Part 3 (Note: GoToWebinar requires you to register in order to view the recording
Click on this link to view a PDF version of the webinar slides: Oxygen Webinar Part 3 Slides.pdf

Supplemental Oxygen Systems Webinar Recording Available for Viewing
If you were unable to attend the US COPD Coalition’s webinar, “Supplemental Oxygen Systems”, which was broadcast live on November 22, 2019, you can now view it in its entirety. This special webinar was devoted to addressing questions and concerns that were submitted as part of our October webinar on supplemental oxygen (you can view the October webinar here). During the October webinar, were fortunate to have representatives from Medicare review coverage policy and clarify misconceptions. The November 22nd webinar consisted of a panel including a pulmonologist, a pulmonary rehabilitation nurse, and a patient. The panel was moderated by a respiratory therapist.
Our distinguished panelists for this webinar include:
Jerry Krishnan, MD, PhD – Associate Vice Chancellor, Population Health Sciences Program; Executive Director, Institute for Healthcare Delivery Design; Professor of Medicine & Public Health ~ University of Illinois at Chicago
Kathleen O. Lindell, PhD, RN, ATSF, FAAN – Associate Professor of Medicine & Nursing, University of Pittsburgh Dorothy P. & Richard P. Simmons Center for Interstitial Lung Disease at UPMC
Valerie Chang, JD – Vice-Chair, US COPD Coalition; Chair, Hawaii COPD Coalition
Sam Giordano, MBA, RRT, FAARC – Chair, US COPD Coalition
Click on the links below to view the webinar recording and to access the webinar documents. In addition to a link to the webinar recording and slides, we have provided a link to the American Association for Respiratory Care’s (AARC) Portable Oxygen Concentrators Guide and CMS’s Medicare Coverage of Durable Medical Equipment booklet.
Supplemental Oxygen Systems Webinar Recording(note: you will be required to register in order to view the recording).
Supplemental Oxygen Systems Webinar slides .pdf

Medicare and Oxygen Webinar Recording
The US COPD Coalition’s webinar, “Medicare and Oxygen” was broadcast on October 16, 2019. The broadcast featured Tangita Daramola, the Competitive Acquisition Ombudsman for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), as well as Cindy White, a Durable Medical Equipment Medicare Administrative Contractor (DME MAC) and Dr. Jessica Whitley, who spoke about CMS’ Immediate Advocacy Program. If you were unable to attend the live broadcast, or if you would like to share it, click on the link below. In addition, you can access a copy of the slides that were used in the presentation and a resource that describes Medicare’s coverage of durable medical equipment.
Click on the following links to view the webinar recording and to access the webinar documents. In addition to a link to the webinar recording and slides, we have provided a link to CMS’s “Medicare Coverage of Durable Medical Equipment” booklet which contains a lot of useful information, and a document that lists answers to questions that were asked during the webinar that we were not able to answer in real time.
Medicare and Oxygen Webinar Recording (You will be required to enter your name and email address to view the webinar recording)
USCC Medicare and Oxygen Webinar Slides.pdf
US COPD oxygen Q and A Final.pdf
Medicare Coverage of Durable Medical Equipment (Updated August 2020)
The U.S. COPD Coalition does not charge membership dues. 100% of our revenue comes from grants and individual donations. Please consider helping us fulfill our mission by clicking on the link above and making a tax-deductible donation.