House Passes Health Care Reform Bill
Historic Pro-Chiropractic Provisions Will Become Law
The U.S. House of Representatives passed HR 3590, the Senate-passed version of national health care reform legislation, March 21, 2010. This means that the provisions contained in HR 3590 now only await President Obama’s signature to be enacted into law. These provisions include an important provider non-discrimination provision long championed by the American Chiropractic Association (ACA). The provider non-discrimination provision (Section 2706) to be enacted into law reads in part: “A group health plan and a health insurance issuer offering group or individual health insurance coverage shall not discriminate with respect to participation under the plan or coverage against any health care provider who is acting within the scope of that provider’s license or certification under applicable State law.”
Additionally, the legislation passed by the House includes two other provisions that impact the chiropractic profession. Doctors of chiropractic are specifically included as potential members of interdisciplinary community health teams. These teams support the development of medical homes by increasing access to comprehensive, community based, coordinated care. Community health teams are integrated teams of providers that include primary care providers, specialists, other clinicians, licensed integrative health professionals and community resources to enhance patient care, wellness and lifestyle improvements. The language in the bill guarantees that the need for doctors of chiropractic will be addressed when considering federal health care workforce programs, another very important inclusion.
ACA will also respond to any future legislation such as “technical corrections” and other modifications that might be considered. Dr. McMichael noted, “Our partners on the Chiropractic Summit were important team members in securing these critical inclusions for the benefit of our profession and our doctors. We thank all team members for their good collaborative work on this major effort and future efforts to come.”
Source: acatoday.org
The Unified Virginia Chiropractic Association Helps DC’s and State Chiropractic Associations Increase MD and Other Healthcare Provider Referrals
The Unified Virginia Chiropractic Association’s Public Relations Committee has completed a series of four “flash” presentations to give Doctors of Chiropractic an effective and easy way to increase MD and other healthcare provider referrals.
The Unified VCA’s series of four timely presentations is not only highly professional, concise, evidence-based, and entertaining, but (1) affordable and (2) easy for the DC’s to utilize, regardless of their marketing or tech savvy. As Unified VCA President Dr. Bill Ward explains, “The presentations give DC’s an effective and EASY way to reach out to MD’s in a way that is meaningful to them to offer our services, educate them about chiropractic, and show how incorporating chiropractic into their healthcare team will help their practice and their patients.”
The presentations consist of:
1. “When and How to Refer to a Chiropractor”,
2. “The Role of Chiropractic in Low Back Pain Management”,
3. “The Role of Chiropractic in Headache Management” and
4. “The Role of Chiropractic in Whiplash Treatment.”
They may be viewed at http://virginiachiropractic.org/videos.htm; however, only Unified VCA members are permitted to download the presentations and use them, as part of their member benefits. What’s more, the Unified VCA has just finalized a program in conjunction with A Trusted Voice, the company that produced these pieces for the VCA, which provides versions customized for other state associations, for use with their members—at significantly lower cost than VCA spent on conceptualization, development and production. Please do not hesitate to contact Dr. Jay Greenstein, Chair of the Unified VCA Public Relations Committee (phone 1-301-518-1006, email [email protected]) or Dr. Daniel Shaye, President of A Trusted Voice (phone 1-877-558-6423, email [email protected]).
ChiroVoice, Uniting the Chiropractic Community
While President Obama’s summit on health care reform took place just blocks away, chiropractic leaders gathered in Washington, D.C., and later met with congressional leaders to stress the importance of chiropractic’s role in national health care and Medicare reform. The group convened as part of the American Chiropractic Association’s 2010 National Chiropractic Legislative Conference with the Chiropractic Summit.
If you couldn’t make it to Washington, but still want to educate policymakers about the value of chiropractic and positively impact any legislative efforts to reform the current national health care system, visit http://www.chirovoice.org/ and join the chiropractic advocacy network. To read more about NCLC 2010, visit www.acatoday.org/NCLC.
Updated Jerry Rice PSA – 30 Seconds & 60 Seconds
In light of the Foundation’s spokesperson, Jerry Rice’s recent induction into the National Football League Hall of Fame, the Foundation has revised the 60-second TV PSA in which Rice shares a positive testimonial on chiropractic care. The revision includes mention of his induction and features footage of Rice during the 2010 Parker Seminars in Las Vegas. At the request of many doctors and state associations we have also created a 30-second spot. Both new TV spots are available (PSA only) to doctors and state associations who are monthly contributors. Source: foundation4cp.com.