Florida Doctors Push Earlier COPD Diagnosis
Physicians during COPD Awareness Month urged earlier detection and an end to insurance barriers that delay treatment for Floridians.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Asthma
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Florida physicians called for earlier diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and removal of insurance barriers during COPD Awareness Month. The COPD Action Alliance and the Florida Thoracic Society urged policymakers to cut prior authorization delays and expand coverage.
Why it matters
More than one million Floridians are living with COPD, and patients who wait on prior authorization or are required to fail on one inhaler before receiving their prescribed medication may end up in the emergency room. The advocates say earlier detection and fewer coverage hurdles could reduce preventable hospital visits.
Florida recorded 34,634 COPD hospitalizations and 125,843 emergency department visits in 2025, and the age-adjusted hospitalization rate has fallen nearly 60% since 2014. The extraction does not specify how much of that decline is attributable to diagnosis or insurance policy changes.
The players
COPD Action Alliance
A national patient advocacy organization focused on improving COPD awareness, diagnosis, and access to care.
Florida Thoracic Society
A professional society of lung and thoracic physicians in Florida that represents clinicians treating chronic respiratory disease.
The details
Advocates say a simple breathing test called spirometry can detect COPD, yet many patients are diagnosed late. They also cite prior authorization delays and step therapy requirements that can force patients to fail on one inhaler before receiving the prescribed one.
Timeline
2014: Start of the period in which Florida's COPD hospitalization rate fell nearly 60%.
2019: Florida enacted a firefighter law covering 21 cancers; COPD is not on the list.
2021: Florida recorded 10,735 COPD deaths.
2022: Florida enacted a step therapy reform law.
2025: Nearly 35,000 COPD hospitalizations were recorded across Florida.
Big Picture
Florida's 2022 step therapy reform law targeted the requirement that patients fail on cheaper drugs before receiving prescribed ones. Advocates now argue COPD care needs similar limits on prior authorization delays.
Patients with breathing symptoms may ask a doctor about spirometry testing for COPD. If an insurer requires a prior authorization or a step through another inhaler, patients can ask their clinician whether the prescribed medication can be requested sooner.
The takeaway
Earlier spirometry testing and fewer insurance delays may help Floridians with COPD avoid emergency visits. Patients who experience persistent breathing trouble should ask their doctor about diagnostic testing.
Further reading
Explore more on Asthma and related respiratory conditions in Florida.
More information
Find COPD information and resources from the COPD Action Alliance.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Sanford Herald.
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