Matters of Life and Breath: Championing COPD Care
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) affects 25 million people in the U.S. and is the fifth leading cause of death from disease – on track to be the third by 2035 if nothing changes. Gaps in treatment, policy inaction, and access barriers give way to high rates of ER visits, hospital admissions, readmissions, and worse. With 150,000 deaths each year and direct-medical costs reaching $31 billion annually, COPD remains an urgent but underprioritized health crisis.
Will the new administration breathe new life into COPD care? How should gaps in treatment be addressed? How can public and private partnerships improve patient outcomes? What does a comprehensive COPD policy framework look like, and when can we expect it? And how can patients with COPD prioritize their own health in the meantime?
Join The Hill as we convene leaders in the Administration, Congress, and COPD advocacy to answer these questions and more.
LOCATION
Washington, DC, and streaming nationwide
DATE & TIME
Tuesday, June 24
7:45 AM ET Registration & Networking
8:30 AM ET Programming begins
10:00 AM ET Programming concludes
Speakers:
- Rep. Maxine Dexter, MD (D-OR), Member, Congressional Doctors Caucus; Pulmonologist
- Dr. Gustavo Matute-Bello, Acting Director – Division of Lung Diseases, National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute, NIH
- Josie Cooper, Executive Director, Alliance for Patient Access
- Grace Anne Dorney Koppel, President, Dorney-Koppel Foundation & COPD Patient
- Dr. David Mannino, Chief Medical Officer & Co-Founder, COPD Foundation
- Dr. John Studdard, Retired Pulmonary & Critical Care Physician; Advocacy Consultant, American College of Chest Physicians
- Dr. Jean Wright, CEO, COPD Foundation
- Liz Bodin, VP – U.S. Respiratory & Immunology, AstraZeneca (sponsor perspective)
Moderator:
- Julia Manchester, National Political Reporter, The Hill

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