Participation Educates Lawmakers on Value of Including Profession in State-level Health Reform Efforts

Pro-Chiropractic Provisions Included in Legislation Supporting Veterans’ Transition Home

Arlington, Va.—The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) applauds the U.S. Senate Veterans Affairs Committee for including provisions of the Chiropractic Care Available to All Veterans Act (S.422), a bill that would improve veteran health care by expanding the availability of chiropractic services to more VA medical centers, in omnibus veterans’ legislation.

The omnibus bill, the Veterans’ Educational Transition Act of 2013 (S. 944), is designed to assist veterans’ transition to normal life after their service is complete. It was approved by the committee on July 24 and will now go to the Senate floor for a final vote. Details of the chiropractic provisions included in the bill will be available when the committee issues its report in upcoming weeks.

Introduced by Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), S. 422 aims to increase patient access to the services provided by chiropractic physicians, which are currently available at less than a third of the 160 VA medical centers nationwide.

Further, repeated reports from the Veterans Health Administration indicate that more than half of all veterans returning from the Middle East and Southwest Asia who have sought VA health care were treated for symptoms associated with musculoskeletal ailments – the top complaint of those tracked for these reports. In a statement released after the chiropractic provisions cleared the committee vote, Sens. Blumenthal and Moran noted that veterans suffering from these types of conditions can be successfully and cost-effectively treated by doctors of chiropractic.

“Those who have made sacrifices for our country—especially veterans, active-duty military and their family members—deserve access to the best health care available, which includes the services provided by doctors of chiropractic,” said ACA President Keith Overland, DC. “The Chiropractic Care Available to All Veterans Act is a step in the right direction, and we give special thanks to Sens. Blumenthal and Moran for championing it.”

Prior to collaborative efforts between the chiropractic profession, its congressional allies and VA, eligible veterans were referred to doctors of chiropractic serving in private practice outside the VA health care system.

"When we work together we can accomplish so much,” said R. Jerry DeGrado, DC, chair of the Chiropractic Summit Government Relations Committee. “This is a great success not only for our profession and the patients we serve, but also for our heroes who deserve care for all they have sacrificed."

A companion bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, H.R. 921, was introduced by Rep. Mike Michaud (D-Maine), a ranking member of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs.

Chiropractic physicians, chiropractic students and chiropractic supporters can contact their congressional representatives and urge them to cosponsor H.R. 921 to ensure the initiative passes this Congress.    

The American Chiropractic Association (ACA), celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2013, is the largest professional association in the United States representing doctors of chiropractic. ACA promotes the highest standards of patient care and professional ethics, and supports research that contributes to the health and well-being of millions of chiropractic patients. Visit www.acatoday.org. 

On Sept. 3, The New York Times printed "Too Young to Have a Stroke? Think Again," about the risk of stroke among younger people, which stated that "Other activities that can cause a carotid tear are those that involve sudden neck jerks, including scuba diving, golf and tennis, as well as chiropractic manipulation and bending the head sharply back (the so-called beauty parlor stroke)." ACA President Keith Overland, DC, quickly responded with a letter to the editor that was printed on page 4 of the Science Times section of the Sept. 11 edition. Dr. Overland's response highlighted research published in the medical journal Spine, which concluded that the risk of vertebrobasilar artery stroke associated with a visit to a chiropractic physician is no different than the risk of stroke following a visit to a primary care physician, and that any observed association between stroke and cervical manipulation or primary care visits is most likely linked to patients with undiagnosed vertebral artery dissections seeking care for neck pain or headaches prior to their strokes.

The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) today filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief in the New Mexico Court of Appeals, supporting the expertise of chiropractic physicians in that state and their right to self-determination.
 
ACA was compelled to file the brief after the International Chiropractors Association (ICA) joined forces with the New Mexico Board of Pharmacy and the New Mexico Medical Board in a December 2011 memorandum to the court, requesting a halt to efforts by the New Mexico Board of Chiropractic Examiners to create an advanced practice training and certification program for chiropractic physicians.
  
In making its argument in favor of allowing New Mexico chiropractic physicians to chart their own course in this matter, ACA's brief informs the court about the extensive educational background and training that chiropractic physicians receive today from accredited U.S. chiropractic colleges.
 
The brief also points out that ACA is the nation's largest and preeminent chiropractic professional association, and that its long-established policy has been to recognize that local doctors are best equipped to determine matters of scope.
 
"It is ACA's opinion that the New Mexico Board of Chiropractic Examiners should be given the same respect as other state boards and allowed to determine what is best for chiropractic physicians and patients in that state. We object in particular to actions by the ICA, as well as the state's pharmacy and medical boards, to interfere with the will of chiropractic physicians in New Mexico and the needs of their patients," said ACA President Keith Overland, DC.
 
It is uncertain at this time when the court will make its final ruling on the issue.

For more information, visit www.acatoday.org/NMbrief.

With a little more than 24 hours until the opening ceremony of the London Olympic Games, it's worth remembering that in 1979, track and field star Dwight Stones broke barriers and thrust chiropractic care into the Olympic spotlight in an interview on national TV, where he spoke about the important work being done by Leroy Perry, DC.

The District Court of Travis County, 250 Judicial District withdrew its opinion and judgment dated April 5, 2012, and substitute the following in its place. The motion for rehearing filed by appellee Texas Medical Association is denied.

The following link is a chiropractic public service announcement produced by the WestHartford Group, a chiropractic think tank dedicated to the advancement of the chiropractic profession.

Are You Suffering from Back Pain?

Members of the House Armed Services Committee have approved the inclusion of a strong, pro-chiropractic directive in their official committee report accompanying the FY 2013 National Defense Authorization Act. The committee language asserts that services provided by doctors of chiropractic (DCs) for our nation's men and women in uniform is of "high quality" and has become a "key" benefit within the military health care system. Read relevant pages from the committee report here.

This week, ACA President Dr. Keith Overland was quoted in a story on FoxNews.com about the benefits of the services provided by doctors of chiropractic. The articles cites research from the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics that found that an integrated approach to health care--including chiropractic care--results in a 51.8 percent reduction in pharmaceutical costs and 43 percent fewer hospital admissions.

To view the full story click on the link below.