Dear Chiropractic Colleague:
This profession-wide “Open Letter” has been issued for a most urgent reason.
Ignore it at your own peril
Comprehensive and far-reaching “National Health Reform” legislation is rapidly moving forward in Congress. It is abundantly clear, that the legislation under consideration could substantially alter America’s health delivery system in dramatic and perhaps unexpected ways.
Depending on the detailed legislative provisions that are ultimately passed into law – the final legislation could either greatly benefit or harm the chiropractic profession and the patients we serve.
Make no mistake about it: Every doctor of chiropractic – regardless of your business model, patient mix or practice location will be greatly affected.
A major controversial issue concerns the proposed establishment of a new “Public” health plan that would be made available to consumers in all 50 states.
Virtually all observers agree this new plan would, as a practical matter, establish a new, national “standard” with respect to health care benefits and services deemed to be “essential” and worthy of inclusion in health insurance plans.
In addition to the new “public” health plan, it is highly likely that Congress may also establish coverage and benefit standards for all private insurance plans that will be marketed through a newly created network of “exchanges” – the dominant mechanism through which consumers are expected to chose their preferred health insurance plan, once a comprehensive reform plan has been enacted into law.
Obviously, if Congress were to decide, as part of the reform process, that chiropractic benefits and services are “essential” – and, thus, important enough to be included in the minimum benefits packages of the new “public” plan (along with those private plans that will be required to match the same standards as the national public plan), then millions of consumers will, for the first time, gain guaranteed coverage of chiropractic services. Likewise, if chiropractic care is not included as a guaranteed covered benefit, then millions of consumers will be channeled into health plans that offer no coverage of chiropractic care. Some patients could even lose their existing coverage for chiropractic care.
In short, our profession has much to gain and much to lose, depending on the precise legislative provisions that are ultimately agreed to by Congress and President Obama.
As you may know, the unified Chiropractic Summit, a joint, cooperative effort of over 40 chiropractic organizations including the American Chiropractic Association (ACA), the Association of Chiropractic Colleges (ACC), the Congress of Chiropractic State Associations (COCSA), and the International Chiropractors Association (ICA),– is aimed at achieving common goals and objectives relative to the national reform issue.
This historic joint effort is helping in very significant ways to raise the profile of the chiropractic profession on Capitol Hill and to send a unified, persuasive message to Congress that has already gained important support for prochiropractic provisions of law.
HOWEVER, A MAJOR (AND POTENTIALLY FATAL) PROBLEM STILL EXISTS…!!!
Sadly – and with great risk to the future of the chiropractic profession – too many DC`s (and their patients) continue to sit on the sidelines and have not yet engaged in the critical grassroots lobbying efforts that are so urgently needed to ensure victory.
The purpose of the “Open Letter” is to make it crystal clear that it is ABSOLUTELY IMPERATIVE that every DC in the nation take IMMEDIATE ACTION to contact and lobby Congress.
GET YOUR PATIENTS INVOLVED!
Use AdjustTheVote.org and ChiroVoice.org to mobilize our strongest asset in this struggle, our patients!
The time for action is NOW…!!! Do not fail to do your part to ensure the protection of both your profession and future. REMEMBER: Your enthusiastic response to this URGENT APPEAL FOR ACTION can make the difference between victory and defeat. TAKE ACTION NOW – as time is running out…!!!
Sincerely,
Glenn D´. Manceaux, DC, President, ACA; Frank Nicchi, DC, President, ACC; Jeff Fedorko, DC, President, COCSA; Gary Walsemann, DC, President, ICA.