Advocacy

CHEST advocates to expand access to health. To make it happen, we not only partner with our expert clinician membership, but we work with government agencies where far-reaching decisions that impact lung health are made. We also work hand-in-hand with patient advocacy groups that are immersed in understanding the major barriers to health people face.

For decades, CHEST has championed lung health advocacy and has been a driver of federal anti-tobacco laws. As the global leader in innovative chest medicine, we fight for policies that prevent and treat lung disease, empower clinicians, and save lives. We’re calling for action at the top of our lungs.

Our advocacy mission

CHEST supports the development of policies and regulatory or legislative actions that improve access to health. Our most proactive efforts are focused across the four key areas that comprise the current policy agenda: tobacco and vaping, oxygen access, pulmonary rehabilitation, and noninvasive ventilation. Through expert-backed research and analysis, we advocate for practical solutions that reflect the needs of those who are directly affected by the issues.

Our efforts are directed toward forming and adopting evidence-based policy recommendations; influencing change within government, payors, and health systems; and organizing collective responses to issues across pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine. We strive to eliminate health disparities by understanding barriers to accessing quality health care, acknowledging the impact of social determinants of health, and promoting healthy environments that help prevent lung disease before it starts.

Let’s speak out for the hundreds of millions of people who suffer from lung disease globally. Together, we can help our world breathe easier.

Advocacy in action

TOBACCO & VAPING

CHEST Comments on Nicotine Yield in Cigarettes and Other Products

October 1, 2025 | As part of its decades-long leadership in advancing public health and reducing tobacco-related harm, CHEST submitted comments to the US Food and Drug Administration in response to a proposed rule that would set standards for the nicotine yield of cigarettes and certain other combusted tobacco products.

PUBLIC HEALTH

CHEST Advocates for Reducing Harmful Emissions and Protecting Vulnerable Populations

September 30, 2025 | CHEST joined comments opposing the proposed rollback of the 2009 Endangerment Finding—a foundational scientific determination that greenhouse gases pose a threat to public health and welfare. CHEST also advocated for additional environmental safeguards.

HEALTH EQUITY

Support for Advance Premium Tax Credits

September 15, 2025 | CHEST and several organizations urged Congress to extend the enhanced advance premium tax credits that have made health coverage more affordable for the more than 24 million Americans who purchased coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplaces in 2025, including many who are older, live in rural areas, or operate small businesses.

PUBLIC HEALTH

Safeguarding the Role of Evidence-Based Medicine

August 28, 2025 | CHEST believes medical policy must be based on proven, effective therapies and a thorough examination of scientific evidence.

HEALTH EQUITY

Supporting the Clinical Trial Modernization Act

August 18, 2025 | CHEST expressed support for the Clinical Trial Modernization Act, a bill that would help eliminate cost and geographic barriers to participation in clinical trials.

SEE MORE STATEMENTS

Priorities

Tobacco and vaping

Building upon our history of anti-tobacco advocacy, CHEST invests in identifying ways to prevent tobacco addiction and stands against innovation that focuses on kids, young adults, and members of marginalized communities, who have been long-time targets of the tobacco industry. We develop evidence-based cessation programs and guides, engage in federal rule-making processes, and lend our voice to legislation that aims to protect communities and individuals from the detrimental impact of smoking, vaping, and nicotine addiction.

Oxygen access

Access to high-flow and liquid oxygen systems is critical to effective patient care and improving patients' overall quality of life. We promote product innovation, seek improved coverage of devices, and educate patients and providers on how to effectively order, use, and maintain their devices. Partnerships with manufacturers and suppliers are key to navigating the barriers sufferers of chronic lung disease face in obtaining access to the devices that enable them to lead a normal life.

Pulmonary rehabilitation

Pulmonary rehabilitation is not a single procedure or service. It is the beginning of a lifestyle change that, with the proper education, guidance, and training, can improve outcomes and the quality of life for those who live with chronic lung disease. CHEST is dedicated to increasing the awareness and ubiquity of pulmonary rehabilitation. We seek to promote innovative delivery, improve reimbursement rates as a means to ensure broader program availability, and increase the prescription of pulmonary rehabilitation for improved patient outcomes.

Noninvasive ventilation

CHEST is committed to making it easier to get patients the type of device and supportive ongoing care they need to live better with chronic conditions, whether COPD, central sleep apnea, obstructive sleep apnea, hypoventilation syndromes, or thoracic restrictive diseases. CHEST strives for the decoupling of device prescription and home therapy. Restructuring how devices are approved for coverage is an essential goal that unites physicians, patient advocates, manufacturers, and suppliers, and CHEST is keeping the stakeholders at the table to find solutions.

Read the latest advocacy news and notes from CHEST Advocates

FEATURES

Medical research laboratory with sign that reads closed until further
notice

FEATURE STORY

Trials and Errors

As bias infiltrates today’s clinical research landscape, patients pay the price

12 MINUTE READ

Researcher working with AI data analysis, lab experiment, data science

MEET THE ADVOCATE

Beyond the Algorithm

Judy Wawira Gichoya, MD, MS, FSIIM, studies how to use AI equitably and ethically in medicine

5 MINUTE READ

IDEAS AND INSIGHTS

SCIENTIST PERSPECTIVE

Recalibrating the Norm: How sex-inclusive science transforms health for all

10 MINUTE READ

FROM THE FRONT LINES

Rare Needs Representation Too: Why research for rare diseases is a nationwide concern

4 MINUTE READ

PHILANTHROPY SPOTLIGHT

Laying the Groundwork for Equity in Sarcoidosis Outcomes: How Kerry Hena, MD, is using her CHEST Research Grant to detect disease earlier

4 MINUTE READ

CLINICAL PRACTICE RESOURCES | See how CHEST has commented on coding, billing, and regulatory compliance issues. READ NOW »

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Together, we can help our world breathe easier.

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