President Obama signs healthcare legislation into law; provisions benefit chiropractic
On Tuesday, March 23, 2010, President Obama made history when he signed national healthcare reform legislation into law. Over the past year, Palmer College of Chiropractic has closely watched the healthcare reform debate and subsequent actions taken by Congress. Palmer administrators, faculty, staff, students and alumni have been working behind the scenes with government officials, other chiropractic organizations and at the grass-roots level for more than a year to facilitate chiropractic’s inclusion in healthcare reform legislation, and with the signing of this new law, these joint efforts have resulted in several provisions that are positive for chiropractic.
Palmer’s efforts have been spearheaded by Vice Chancellor for Research and Health Policy Christine Goertz, D.C., Ph.D., who heads the Palmer Center for Health Policy. “Tuesday was truly a historic day for more than 30 million people who will now have access to needed health care, including chiropractic,” she said, “So many people have worked tirelessly for more than a decade to make this happen.”
The provisions in the new law that specifically benefit chiropractic include an important provider non-discrimination provision, also known within the chiropractic profession as the “Harkin Amendment,” which was incorporated into the bill primarily due to the efforts of Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) with help from other key legislators such as Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Connecticut) and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). This provision makes it against federal law for insurance companies to discriminate against doctors of chiropractic and other providers relative to their participation and coverage in health plans, as long as they are licensed or certified at the state level and are providing care within their scope of practice.
Two provisions of the law specifically mention the chiropractic profession. First, doctors of chiropractic are included as potential members of interdisciplinary community health teams. Community health teams are integrated teams of providers including primary care providers, specialists, other clinicians, licensed integrative health professionals and community resources designed to enhance patient care, wellness and lifestyle improvements.
Second, the new law establishes a National Health Care Workforce Commission to examine current and projected needs in the healthcare workforce. The commission includes doctors of chiropractic by defining them as part of the healthcare workforce, and in the definition of health professionals. The National Health Care Workforce Commission is tasked with providing comprehensive, unbiased information to Congress and the Obama Administration about how to align federal healthcare workforce resources with national needs. Chiropractic colleges are included among the health professional training schools to be studied as part of this effort.
For additional information on the new healthcare reform law, go to the American Chiropractic Association’s website at www.acatoday.org, or the International Chiropractors Association’s website at www.chiropractic.org.
