CARMICHAEL, Calif. – October 16, 2006 -- The Foundation for Chiropractic Progress, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to increasing public awareness of benefits of chiropractic, announced today an overwhelming positive response to the initial run of its year-long educational advertorial campaign in major national publications including Newsweek, U.S.News and World Report, Sports Illustrated and Business Week. Center to this campaign is a full-page advertorial featuring spokesperson Sarah Harding, two-time winner of the Ms. Fitness USA title, sharing her positive experience with chiropractic care. “Sarah Harding is ideal for this position, having earned the title Ms. Fitness USA partially the result of a dynamic fitness routine which showcased her physical strength, flexibility and endurance,” says Kent Greenawalt, President of the Foundation. “But, there is more to Sarah. She is an All American Honors graduate of Stanford University with an undergraduate degree in East Asian Studies and a Master’s Degree in Communication.” At Stanford, Harding earned All American honors on floor exercise, scored a perfect “10,” and will forever share the school record on the floor. Her entertainment career includes principal choreographer, dancer and acrobat at several theme parks worldwide. In 2003, she joined a highly successful acrobatic troupe in Las Vegas, NV where she performs high falls, acrobatic acting, and stunt work in two shows nightly for nearly 2,000 people per show. Chiropractic has always played an important role in Sarah’s life. “Chiropractic allowed me to pursue gymnastics,” she said. “Even at an early age, it enabled me to lead an active life style. Chiropractic literally changed my life. If you’re looking to make wellness a part of your life, Chiropractic is a great place to start. I am pleased to be part of a campaign that demonstrates the value of this great profession.” Greenawalt looks forward to a long association between the Foundation and Ms. Harding. ”Sarah is a woman for all seasons, combining beauty, athleticism and intelligence. I can’t think of anyone better to articulate the benefits of chiropractic care.” About F4CP The Foundation for Chiropractic Progress is a 501c6 corporation that represents a cross section of the chiropractic and vendor communities with the goal of increasing the public’s awareness of the benefits of chiropractic. 916.359.0327

The Special Review Committee of the Board of Directors of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) and its independent counsel, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, have completed a review and report of UnitedHealth Group’s stock option practices and reported the findings to the non-management directors. A copy of the WilmerHale report is available at: Wilmer Hale Report. Copies of the report have been sent to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice. In accepting the report, the Board of Directors today announced the following actions and decisions: 1. William W. McGuire, M.D. will leave the company on or before December 1, 2006, and he stepped down today as Chairman of the Board and as a Director. Between now and his departure, he will continue as Chief Executive Officer and will assist in an orderly transition to new leadership. The Board expressed its appreciation for the extraordinary contributions made by Dr. McGuire over the past 15 years. Under his leadership, UnitedHealth Group has had an enormous positive impact on the American health care system, making significant contributions in improving accessibility and making the health care system more affordable; the company became an industry leader with revenues growing from approximately $600 million to more than $70 billion. The stock price of UnitedHealth Group rose by almost 8500 percent, more than 30 times the growth of the S&P 500. The employees, shareholders and customers of UnitedHealth Group have all benefited from his leadership, energy and vision. 2. The Board elected Stephen J. Hemsley to succeed Dr. McGuire as CEO upon Dr. McGuire’s departure from the company. Mr. Hemsley joined the company in 1997 and has been the company’s President and COO since 1999. 3. The Board has created the position of non-executive chairman of the UnitedHealth Group Board. 4. The Board has elected Richard T. Burke, founding CEO of UnitedHealth Group, and a director since 1977, to the position of non-executive chairman, effective immediately. 5. The Board has accepted the resignation of board member William G. Spears, who had remained with the Board for the past six months to see the review process through to completion. The Board is grateful to Mr. Spears for his many contributions during his 15 years of service to the company. 6. David J. Lubben will proceed with plans to retire and is stepping down today as General Counsel and Secretary. He will remain with the company to effect an orderly transition of his responsibilities. The Board is grateful to Mr. Lubben for his 25 years of outstanding service and commitment to the company, both as in-house counsel and his prior contributions as outside counsel. 7. The Board has instructed Mr. Hemsley to review the conduct of senior executives in the legal, human capital and accounting functions of the Company and recommend any additional personnel actions to the Board should they be necessary. 8. Mr. Hemsley has voluntarily agreed to reprice all options awarded through 2002 to the annual high share price for each year, and to take any other appropriate action to eliminate any possible financial benefit from options-related issues identified in the report. The Board expects similar actions by Mr. Lubben and the company’s most senior executives. 9. Dr. McGuire has voluntarily agreed to reprice all options awarded to him from 1994 through 2002 to the annual high share price for each year to eliminate any possible financial benefit from options dating issues identified in the report. The company is engaged in discussions with Dr. McGuire concerning the terms of his departure from the company, including other options issues and financial benefits. The company expects to conclude the discussions on or before December 1, 2006. In addition to the steps above, the Board is taking the following actions with respect to the corporate governance of UnitedHealth Group. 10. The Board will have five board seats filled by new independent directors over the next three years in order to bring new experiences, expertise and perspectives into its membership. 11. A new senior executive position of Chief Legal Officer will be established and a national search for candidates will be conducted. 12. The position of Chief Ethics Officer will be made a senior executive position with responsibility for communicating and monitoring compliance with standards of ethical conduct and business integrity by all of the Company’s employees. 13. The position of Chief Administrative Officer will be made a senior executive position with responsibility for the Company’s critical administrative functions and non-business operations, including human capital, personnel, compensation, compliance, internal audit and business risk management, and staff support functions. 14. A separate position of Secretary to the Board, who will report to the Board with an administrative reporting line to the Chief Legal Officer, will be established. The sole responsibility of the Secretary will be to support the activities of the Board and of its Committees, including ensuring that the Board’s activities and recordkeeping are in line with corporate best practices. The actions on corporate governance announced today follow steps taken by the Board earlier this year to improve the Company’s corporate governance and compensation practices. These include: Board Structure and Process • Appointing co-lead directors (these positions have been replaced as of today by the position of non-executive chairman). • Recommending that the Shareholders amend the Company’s Charter to eliminate the classified board, so that all directors would be elected annually • Recommending that the Shareholders amend the Company’s Charter to remove supermajority approval requirements • Establishing a Public Responsibility Committee to focus on the Company’s corporate social responsibility • Initiating the review and enhancement of the Company’s director independence standards • Requiring all Audit Committee members to be financial experts as defined by the SEC • Limiting the number of boards on which directors may serve • Requiring that all directors attend ISS accredited director training Director and Officer Compensation • Reducing Board compensation by 40 percent, following a reduction of 20 percent in 2005 • Discontinuing equity awards to a number of senior executives, including the CEO and President • Initiating the process of amending the employment agreements of the CEO and President to cap SERP benefits; require reimbursement to the Company for any personal use of corporate aircraft; eliminate any tax gross-ups payable in connection with the personal use of corporate aircraft; and eliminate certain perquisites including life insurance and disability premium payments not generally available to other employees and Company-funded post-retirement health insurance • Initiating the process of amending the employment agreements of all senior executive officers to remove any enhanced severance payments upon a change of control • Establishing stock ownership guidelines for directors and executive officers Controls Over Stock Options and Other Equity Awards • Eliminating all delegated authority to management to make equity awards • Requiring that broad based equity awards to the Company’s executives and employees occur annually and be approved at the Board meeting that generally coincides with the Company’s Annual Meeting • Requiring that awards made to new hires, or for promotions or other important and valid business purposes, only be made and approved at a subsequent regularly scheduled quarterly meeting • Significantly enhancing the Company’s approval processes and internal controls related to stock option granting and administration. The WilmerHale team was led by William R. McLucas, former Director of Enforcement of the Securities and Exchange Commission. During the inquiry, WilmerHale reviewed more than 26 million pages of materials and conducted more than 80 interviews of UnitedHealth employees, present and former directors and former auditors.

Associated Press (AP) Business Writer reports that UnitedHealth CEO McGuire received stock options of 1.6 BILLION DOLLARS as of the end of 2005. AP also reported that “UnitedHealth Group Inc. announced on Sunday that Chairman and Chief Executive William McGuire will step down.” To view the entire article click on the link below:

Norwalk, Iowa—Recognizing the need for the chiropractic profession to develop its own research infrastructure, the Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research (FCER) took the lead many years ago to develop a research Fellowship program. To date, FCER has provided financial assistance to 148 promising scholars who had expressed a desire to study various aspects of chiropractic methods of care. FCER is therefore pleased to announce the Foot Levelers and National Board of Chiropractic Examiners financial support of FCER’s 2006 Fellows, as well as the recipients of those awards. Renewed Fellows All four of the renewed FCER Fellows have demonstrated achievements that continue to impress the FCER Research Committee. The renewed Fellows are: Kathleen Linaker, D.C., is seeking her Ph.D. in higher education: leadership foundations and counseling psychology at Loyola University in Chicago, IL. In the last year, Dr. Linaker has completed a first draft of a Masters of Diagnostic Imaging program at Life University; the program has been submitted to the Board of Directors for review. In addition, the compilation of radiology pathology files which she has overseen for use by interns and residents at National University of Health Sciences now contains over 1300 cases. She has co-developed a Case Review Panel for upper quarter students at Life University. She is preparing a paper on treating musculoskeletal injuries with monochromatic infrared light, to be submitted to the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, and she is completing two other studies—on facet tropism and a correlation of L4 and L5 spondylolisthesis with S1 spina bifida occulta—which will also then be prepared for publication. Jacqueline D. Bougie, D.C., seeks a DPH in preventive care at Loma Linda University in California. The transcripts provided by Loma Linda University show Dr. Bougie displaying a near perfect record thus far in her program. She brings an extensive clinical research background to the program and has won the admiration of her colleagues and professors. Anthony D’Antoni, D.C., M.S, seeks his PhD. in health sciences at Seton Hall University, in South Orange, NJ. Dr. D'Antoni completed a research investigation with Dr. Arthur Croft on the prevalence of herniated intervertebral discs of the cervical spine in asymptomatic subjects using MRI scans that is to be published in the Journal of Whiplash and Related Disorders; it was also presented at the ACC-RAC X conference in March 2006. He has been asked to write a review paper on the topic of applying mind-mapping technique for the Journal of Chiropractic Humanities. Dr. D'Antoni also presented a paper called "Federico di Montefeltro's Hyperkyphosis: A Visuohistorical Case Study with Applications for Chiropractic Education" at FCER's Conference on Chiropractic Research (CCR) in September 2006. Stephen Burnie, BSc, D.C., seeks his MSc in Rehabilitation Sciences from McMaster University, Hamilton, ONT. Showing a perfect record on his transcripts from the University in biostatistics and rehabilitation sciences, Dr. Burnie was also recognized as a Canadian Institutes of Health Research "Strategic Training Fellow in Rehabilitation Research" in October 2005, and he was a guest lecturer at Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College. His proposed to complete his thesis on the systematic review of the literature on neck manipulation for pain and he will use the results to formulate a dose-response study for treating neck pain with adjustments. New FCER Fellowship Support In order to obtain an FCER Fellowship, applicants must show financial need in addition to providing satisfactory documentation that establishes superior transcripts; detailed, insightful and enthusiastic letters of recommendation; and a feasible, lasting interest in research. The purpose of the FCER Fellowship awards is to provide the chiropractic profession with a steady supply of high-quality, dedicated researchers and to increase the research base of the profession. The 2006 FCER Fellows are: Steven Passmore, D.C., seeks his PhD in Human Biodynamics at McMaster University. Before entering chiropractic college at NYCC, Dr. Passmore earned his Masters of Science in kinesiology, specializing in human motor behavior, and was therefore able to design an IRB approved research study while at NYCC. The results of this study were published as an abstract in the Journal of Sport and Exercise Physiology, presented at the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity, and will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. As a student intern at the Buffalo Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Dr. Passmore reports that he was able to design and implement clinical research projects at multiple sites with the Veterans Health Administration populations. He intends his current program's thesis to focus on developing appropriate quantitative measures to evaluate chiropractic intervention based on patient performance. Paul Nolet, D.C., seeks his MPH at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, ONT. As a private practitioner with multiple publication in the Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association, Dr. Nolet now intends to continue his education at Lakehead. He proposes to work with Dr. Pierre Cote and use the data from the Saskatchewan Health and Back Pain Survey to do a prospective, longitudinal cohort study comparing neck pain and headaches n the general population of Saskatchewan to those in the province who have a history of neck trauma due to motor vehicle collision. Sydney Rubinstein, D.C., is pursuing a PhD in Epidemiology at the Institution for Research in Extramural Medicine, one of the research institutes at the VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Dr. Rubinstein has one of the most extensive and distinguished bibliographies ever seen from an applicant for FCER Fellowship. He is currently one of the principal investigators of a prospective cohort study of 580 chiropractic patients in The Netherlands who are undergoing cervical manipulation. With Dr. Scott Haldeman, Dr. Rubinstein has developed a model and attempt to explain the etiology of dissection with specific reference to manipulation. He plans to examine why the medical profession views cervical manipulation as dangerous in the absence of definitive information. "Nothing less than the future of chiropractic research rests with these individuals who have chosen this demanding yet rewarding career path," said FCER’s Director of Research and Education, Anthony L. Rosner, Ph.D. "Their achievements at this stage already rival those of far more senior faculty, and we are as proud as hopeful that these Fellows show every indication that their contributions to the research literature will be recognized for years to come." Information on FCER, its programs, funded research, products that support further research, and more may be found at

New York Chiropractic College’s (NYCC) Master of Science Program in Clinical Anatomy (MSCA) was approved by New York State’s Education Department - the first of its kind to be introduced at a chiropractic college in conjunction with a medical school. The MSCA program, operating in conjunction with the State University of New York (SUNY) Upstate Medical University in Syracuse and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in New York City, is intended to appeal to doctors of chiropractic who seek to enhance their education in anatomy and to enter careers in teaching the subject in secondary educational settings. The program will begin classes in the fall of 2007 and graduate students two years thereafter. Instruction will take place at NYCC’s Seneca Falls campus - following a weekly schedule that enables students to attend the College’s well-equipped anatomy facility. Teaching practicums will be held at the Seneca Falls campus, at Syracuse’s SUNY Upstate Medical University, and at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine located downstate. Defense of a master’s thesis is a requirement. Robert Walker, PhD, Dean of NYCC’s Master of Science in Clinical Anatomy program will oversee the new curriculum and teach several courses. Walker’s efforts were instrumental in the program’s development. He will be joined by Dr. Barry Berg of SUNY’s Upstate Health Science Center and by Dr. Todd Olson, Director of Anatomy at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine - an active member of the American Association of Clinical Anatomists and the International Association of Medical Science Educators. NYCC faculty members who will also provide instruction include Drs. Raj Philomin, Seva Philomin, Michael Zumpano, Maria Thomadaki, Sandra Hartwell-Ford, Michael Mestan, John Taylor, Jeanmarie Burke and Judy Silvestrone. Dr. Walker explained that the program was badly needed in order to maintain a pool of professionals adequately trained to teach gross anatomy at advanced educational levels. Walker sees the program as a “win-win” situation for NYCC as well as for the SUNY Upstate Health Science Center and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine: “It will give our [NYCC] students excellent teaching experience while providing the other institutions with well-trained laboratory professionals.” Dr. J. Clay McDonald, Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs, is extremely pleased about NYCC’s new program, remarking, “I am very proud of Dr. Walker’s many accomplishments and am excited by the possibilities this program offers our students.”

If you are seeking chiropractic care in New York (NY), you can locate a New York chiropractor by visiting the New York State Chiropractic Association (NYSCA) web site at www.NYSCA.com were over 6000 New York (NY)chiropractors are listed by city, zip code or last name. To find an online Chiropractor follow these instructions. Go to NYSCA’s web site at www.NYSCA.com. Once on the Home Page select “Find a Doctor” button and then enter the City, zip code or last name. It is that simple. This search will allow the public to find a NY Chiropractor or a Chiropractic Office in a city near them. NYSCA is dedicated to maintaining the most up-to-date and accurate Chiropractor Directory of NY chiropractors and information on Chiropractic for the public.

In the ongoing professional debate about the CCGPP Best Practice Initiative CCGPP Executive Committee, presented the fallowing views. The opinions of CCGPP do not reflect the views of New York State Chiropractic Association and are solely presented here for informational purpose. The following observations are submitted to challenge those who believe the CCGPP Best Practice Initiative will limit chiropractic care. We have a differing opinion. Please consider the following: Observation…Chronic care: The CCGPP Best Practice low back draft recommends treatment beyond every guideline in existence today. Given that reality, how could this document be used to limit chiropractic? This is the ONLY document we’ve seen supporting chiropractic treatment of chronic conditions. (see pages 5-19) Show us any others. Observation…Literature ratings: "B" and "C" ratings in the scientific community are not all bad, in fact, with nearly every category of low back condition, no treatments are rated higher than spinal manipulation. (see pages 27-30) Therefore how could this document be used to limit care? “B” and “C” are the equivalent of hitting a triple (using a baseball analogy) in the world of science. There are few home runs in the scientific literature, but manipulation for acute, subacute, and chronic care are rated at the highest levels in the CCGPP Best Practice document, thus improving our chances of expanding benefits. (see pages 27-30) Observation…Passive Modalities: Given that the insurance industry is fully aware of the low rating on passive modalities present in every guideline with which we are aware (ODG, ACOEM, AHCPR, Milliman and Robertson, etc.), what proof do the critics have that this will lead to a 30-40% reduction in income? This issue represents fear mongering at the lowest levels. Observation…X-ray: Given that the CCGPP x-ray recommendations have set the bar as low as "pain and/or limitation of motion" (see page 69), how could this document be used against us, unless you are one of the 1.9% of the DC population who believes in x-raying every patient no matter how uncomplicated the case? Again, why would this lead to a 30-40% drop income? Is there any proof? Answer: NO. Observation…Website as a Resource: Consider the incredible potential every DC will have by having access to reams of data supporting care at the click of a mouse using the website. We also will have the ability to share that information with those who would deny care using a cookbook guideline like ODG, Milliman and Robertson, and ACOEM. Observation…Best Practice vs. Guidelines: The Best Practice Initiative represents an important shift from cookbook guidelines to the "process of care", educating the payors that medical necessity must be based upon clinical decision-making, patient values, risk factors, and documentation, i.e., the uniqueness of each case, versus a guideline cookbook. Encouraging the “process of care” may be the main benefit of CCGPP’s Best Practice Initiative. Observation…Pragmatic viewpoint: To summarize, if the treatment recommendations for the core of what we do, manipulation and active care, expand from acute and subacute into the chronic pain patient population, and the x-ray and PT recommendations are basically no different from what we've been living with for the past 10 years, what is the real problem with this document? This document increases the support for chiropractic management of acute to chronic care in the third party reimbursement world. This document will enhance patient care. (again, please read pages 5-19, What Constitutes Evidence for Best Practice?”

In the ongoing professional debate about the CCGPP Best Practice Initiative Dr. Ronald J. Farabaugh, CCGPP Secretary, presented the fallowing views. His opinions do not reflect the views of New York State Chiropractic Association and are solely presented here for informational purpose. Have you ever been sued for malpractice? I have. The suit was spawned after an ignorant statement from an ER physician. He eagerly told my patient that a DC should not have been treating a herniated disc. Once the seed of malpractice was planted the patient found the possibility of a large cash award too irresistible and filed suit. The case was dropped but the issue illustrated the need for our profession to educate other medical professionals and the public at large about the literature and evidence-based benefits of chiropractic management of herniated discs. By the way, the patient consulted the ER only because he had no insurance and found that trading services with my office (he cleaned my carpets) was unrealistic. He consulted the ER since they were obligated to treat him regardless of coverage. I considered suing the ER physician, but decided to educate him instead. I also attempted to understand him. In his 1997 North American Spine Society Presidential address, Dr. Saul stated: “…physicians often prescribe treatment for their patients based upon their most recent success or failure. We skim our journals for articles that appeal to us, and sort out information that does not support our frame of reference. Even learned people will tend to gather and synthesize information preferentially as it supports and relates to their own opinions and objectives.” “Sort out the information”…….I wonder how many of us are guilty of that level of creative rationalization? Bottom line: despite the uncanny ability for us humans to selectively consider evidence, including literature, we must educate the masses. Recognition of this tendency has let our group, CCGPP, to develop a useable means of sifting through the literature, and it is important to understand the how Best Practice will benefit you and your practice. Please consider the short list of BP benefits: 1. Education of medical providers: This document can be used to educate medical professionals of all types (MDs, DOs, PTs, optometrists, podiatrists, dentists, athletic trainers, nurses, surgeons, personal trainers, massage therapists) in your geographical area about the benefits of DC treatment, especially spinal manipulation and active care, which received the highest rating for the most common conditions treated by DCs. Those who educate win!! 2. Stimulate Referrals: When the medical field has confidence in the literature, and they have a relationship developed thru various forms of communication (email, letters, research summaries, DVDs, websites, etc.) they will readily refer in an effort to help their own patients. This document provides you the resources and confidence you need to begin a consistent program of communication. 3. Education of third party payors, benefit managers, and employers to potentially expanded benefits: We have a better chance to preserve or enhance benefits related to the services provided by DCs given the high rating related the core of a chiropractic practice: manipulation and active care. This document provides us the tools/information we need to educate decision-makers in order to influence benefits in a positive manner. 4. Fight bad consultants. This document can and will be used to illuminate the illogical profit-driven opinions of income-dependant, predictably negative consultants. This document clearly supports chiropractic management for chronic pain, a hot button area of consistent denial by bad consultants who seem oblivious to the literature supporting chiropractic treatment of the chronic pain patient. If you want to shoot back, you need ammunition! 5. Allows greater discretion for physician decision-making. Probably the greatest benefit of this document is the shift away from consultant denials based on traditional guidelines and literature only, and supports the reality that medically necessary care is based upon the combination of: (a) literature, (b) clinical experience, and a consideration of risk factors/stratification that affects the natural history of a condition, and (c) patient preferences. Gone forever should be the consultant denial language of “there is no literature”. Why? Support for care depends more upon the documentation and response to care, versus the literature alone. Literature provides a foundation for care, but should not tyrannize care. This document honors the fact that each patient is unique. 6. More good news: This document clearly identifies the fact that the average chiropractic practice is on an equal, if not superior, scientific foundation compared to most other forms of medical treatment. 7. Patient information: Patients today are Internet savvy, intelligent, and have an emerging knowledge of “Best Practice”. This document and process, along with the other information technologies including interactive websites, DVDs, patient focused publications, etc., will be utilized by those looking for an evidence-based, best practice DC. Patients will seek you out if you become BP certified. What if we do nothing? If we do nothing in the area of evidence-based practice we risk being tyrannized by those who will do it for us, without chiropractic input. It’s been happening for years. We’ve all felt the negative effects of ODG, ACOEM, Milliman and Robertson, and other guidelines that consultants and third party payors have used inappropriately to limit your care. We need to move in a different direction. The Best Practice movement is a concept long overdue. Either we gather and rate the evidence or it will be handed to us on someone else’s financially motivated platter. The future is bright for chiropractic, IF we accept that times are a chang’in. Remember, “Life is Change. Growth is Optional.” Let’s grow together!

SENECA FALLS, NY - As New York Chiropractic College welcomes fall trimester students, it will have to make room for record numbers entering its doctoral and masters programs. NYCC President Dr. Frank J Nicchi expressed his pleasure at the sizeable incoming class: “I am thrilled that our efforts to provide excellent academic offerings are being well received by the public.” Of the one hundred-ninety-seven new students, one hundred–seventeen will enter NYCC’s Doctor of Chiropractic program and thirty begin study for masters’ degrees in its programs for Acupuncture or Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. In addition, ten new students enrolled in pre-requisite courses NYCC offers in affiliation with Finger Lakes Community College. New this fall, NYCC launched a masters degree program in applied clinical nutrition. Forty students enrolled in the inaugural class for the 2 year program and will attend classes one weekend each month for two years. Faculty provide lectures at the college’s Seneca Falls, Levittown and Depew locations. Such an overwhelming response to the program resulted in a waiting list of applicants. Consequently, the college is considering offering an additional section to the program. Assistant Director of Admissions, Steve Budgar, credits the favorable enrollment picture, in part, to “the College’s delivery of quality programs and its emphasis on excellent customer service.”

DCs Could Face 13.1 Percent Reduction in Medicare Reimbursement Rates The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) is calling on Congress to halt proposed reductions in Medicare physician payments scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2007, that could seriously jeopardize access to care for millions of Medicare patients and would significantly reduce chiropractic reimbursement rates under Medicare. ACA says that changes recently proposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) as part of a congressionally mandated five-year review undermine Congress’ goals of preserving patient access and achieving greater quality of care. The association is pressing for a one-year delay in implementation of the cuts to provide CMS more time to assess the negative impact of the changes. ACA is also pressing Congress for action on another possible Medicare cut, which involves a legally mandated formula—the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR)—to control Medicare spending. ACA is urging Congress and CMS to explore alternatives to the “inequitable” formulas used to determine physician reimbursement and to correct the system that consistently leaves millions of beneficiaries’ care in jeopardy each year. Proposed Cuts Vary Among Provider Groups This action comes on the heels of two proposed notices released by CMS that outline its plan to revise the way it calculates “relative value units” (RVUs) – or the costs associated with various health care services – under the Medicare physician fee schedule. CMS has proposed to offset an increase in payments to physicians who use higher-level evaluation and management (E/M) services by applying a budget neutrality adjuster across work RVUs for all health care services by 10 percent. This adjuster results in significantly different outcomes depending on the codes a given provider community uses. While some physicians will benefit from the increase in payments for higher-level E/M services, many health care providers will experience a dramatic overall decrease in reimbursements – particularly those providers who cannot bill for or do not frequently use higher-level E/M codes when submitting Medicare claims. In fact, certain health care professionals could experience payment cuts of as much as 15 percent by 2010 in this area of the Medicare payment formula alone. In 2007, doctors of chiropractic are slated to take an 8 percent cut in reimbursement. These cuts under the proposed notice would come in addition to a projected 5.1 percent reduction in payments based on the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) – a formula used to control the growth in Medicare. The combination of these requirements and proposals would result in a 13.1 percent total decrease to chiropractic reimbursement rates effective January 1, 2007. ACA Seeks Long-term Solution In addition to seeking immediate congressional action to delay the proposed rule, ACA is pressing for a fix to the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula. It is advocating not only for addressing next year’s 5.1 percent payment cut, but also to create a long-term policy solution that would lead to more accurate physician reimbursement. “Congress needs to act to halt or fix each of these cuts. CMS should explore ways to value patient time without reducing patient access to care by providers who would be forced to limit services due to such severe reimbursement cuts,” said Richard Brassard, DC, president of the American Chiropractic Association. “Preventing these cuts will ensure that Medicare beneficiaries continue to have access to valuable health care services, including doctors of chiropractic.” How Can Doctors of Chiropractic Help? The American Chiropractic Association is urging its members and chiropractic patients to lobby Congress on this issue before a final rule is unveiled by CMS later this year. Specifically, the ACA is asking doctors of chiropractic to contact their U.S. Representatives and Senators and ask them: To delay for at least one year implementation of the proposed rule as published in the June 29, 2006, Federal Register (71 Fed. Reg. 37170). Preventing these cuts will ensure that Medicare beneficiaries continue to have access to valuable health care services. In delaying implementation, Congress should also require CMS to determine the impact that these severe payment cuts will have on patient access to services. To sign on to the Cardin-Johnson Letter. A letter is being circulated around the U.S. House of Representatives that asks for Congress to take action and prevent the 5.1 percent decrease to the SGR from taking effect. Available on ACA’s Web site is a list of members of Congress who have NOT signed onto this letter as of Sept. 7. If your member of Congress is on this list, please contact him/her and ask them to sign onto this important bi-partisan letter. If your member is not on the list, please contact them and thank them for their support. Representatives and Senators can be reached via the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or via the ACA Legislative Action Center. For more information, visit ACA’s Web site at:

Consumption of Vitamin D tablets was found to cut the risk of pancreatic cancer nearly in half, according to a study led by researchers at Northwestern and Harvard universities. The findings point to Vitamin D’s potential to prevent the disease, and is one of the first known studies to use a large-scale epidemiological survey to examine the relationship between the nutrient and cancer of the pancreas. The study, led by Halcyon Skinner, Ph.D., of Northwestern, appears in the September issue of Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention. The study examined data from two large, long-term health surveys and found that taking the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance of Vitamin D (400 IU/day) reduced the risk of pancreatic cancer by 43 percent. By comparison, those who consumed less than 150 IUs per day experienced a 22 percent reduced risk of cancer. Increased consumption of the vitamin beyond 400 IUs per day resulted in no significant increased benefit. “Because there is no effective screening for pancreatic cancer, identifying controllable risk factors for the disease is essential for developing strategies that can prevent cancer,” said Skinner. “Vitamin D has shown strong potential for preventing and treating prostate cancer, and areas with greater sunlight exposure have lower incidence and mortality for prostate, breast, and colon cancers, leading us to investigate a role for Vitamin D in pancreatic cancer risk. Few studies have examined this association, and we did observe a reduced risk for pancreatic cancer with higher intake of Vitamin D.” Skinner, currently in the Department of Population Health Sciences at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, and his colleagues analyzed data from two long-term studies of health and diet practices, conducted at Harvard University. They looked at data on 46,771 men aged 40 to 75 years who took part in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, and 75,427 women aged 38 to 65 years who participated in the Nurses’ Health Study. Between the two studies, they identified 365 cases of pancreatic cancer. The surveys are considered valuable for their prospective design, following health trends instead of looking at purely historical information, high follow-up rates and the ability to enable researchers like Skinner to incorporate data from two independent studies. Pancreatic cancer is a rapidly fatal disease and the fourth-leading cause of death from cancer in the United States. This year, the American Cancer Society estimates that 32,000 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed. About the same number of people will die this year from the disease. It has no known cure, and surgical treatments are not often effective. Except for cigarette smoking, no environmental factors or dietary practices have been linked to the disease. In addition to Vitamin D, the researchers also measured the association between pancreatic cancer and the intakes of calcium and retinol (Vitamin A). Calcium and retinol intakes showed no association with pancreatic cancer risk, although retinol is an antagonist of Vitamin D’s ability to influence mineral balances and bone integrity. For that reason, further research is necessary to determine if Vitamin D ingestion from dietary sources, like eggs, liver and fatty fish or fortified dairy products, or through sun exposure might be preferable to multi-vitamin supplements, which contain retinol. The potential benefits of vitamin D for pancreatic cancer were only recently established by other laboratory studies. Normal and cancerous pancreas tissue contain high levels of the enzyme that converts circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D into 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, the vitamin’s active form. Other studies have shown an anti-cell proliferation effect of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, potentially inhibiting tumor cells. “In concert with laboratory results suggesting anti-tumor effects of Vitamin D, our results point to a possible role for Vitamin D in the prevention and possible reduction in mortality of pancreatic cancer. Since no other environmental or dietary factor showed this risk relationship, more study of Vitamin D’s role is warranted,” Skinner said. Skinner’s colleagues in the study include Dominique Michaud, Edward Giovannucci, Walter Willett and Graham Colditz of Harvard, and Charles Fuchs of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. News release, American Association for Cancer Research.

The College was notified late Monday afternoon, August 7, 2006, that the Commission on Accreditation of the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) has reaffirmed the accreditation of the Doctor of Chiropractic program of our institution. Reaffirmation marks the beginning of the next eight-(8) year accreditation cycle for Logan. Our next comprehensive site visit is scheduled for Spring 2014. We have received eight years of reaccreditation with NO CONCERNS, acknowledged George A. Goodman, DC, President, Logan College of Chiropractic.

With approximately 2 million spectators lining its route and 270 million watching world wide the ING New York City Marathon is a monumental international event which redefined marathoning. To runners everywhere this is THE marathon. Now is your chance to join the large team of chiropractors and chiropractic students who volunteer along with thousands of other health professionals to provide first aid to the runners and help them make it to the finish line. Dr. Stephen Perle, who is the chiropractic coordinator for the ING NYC Marathon is asking for your support by volunteering to be a part of the medical team. There are many D.C.s for whom their experience at the ING NYC Marathon has provided them with the skills to work at their local road races and serve their local communities better. Volunteers will be providing first aid only to runners. So no need to bring any equipment. There will be shirts, and rain suits supplied to all medical staff volunteers. Everyone MUST attend one of two obligatory orientation in the evening of Monday or Tuesday before the race (Oct 30 or 31) at the Hilton New York. One MUST attend ONE of the orientations. The application must be mailed (no faxes or emails) to Dr. Perle so he has it by September 25th. So do not hesitate fill it out and mail it today to: Stephen M. Perle, D.C., M.S. Chiropractic Coordinator, ING New York City Marathon University of Bridgeport 225 Myrtle Ave Bridgeport, CT 06604 Please see the race web site for more information about the race in general - www.ingnycmarathon.org. If you are interested or have more specific questions about being a volunteer on the medical team, please contact Dr. Perle via email [email protected]. Below please find the application to be a medical volunteer at the 2006 ING New York City Marathon.

Benjamin Ofori, Driss Oraichi, Lucie Blais, Evelyne Rey, Anick Bérard ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Many women take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) during pregnancy but the risks for the infant remain controversial. We carried out a study to quantify the association between those women prescribed NSAIDs in early pregnancy and congenital anomalies. METHODS: A population-based pregnancy registry was built by linking data from three administrative databases in Quebec between 1997-2003. The inclusion criteria were mothers of live singleton infants, between 15-45 years of age, covered by the RAMQ drug plan 12 months before and during pregnancy, and prescribed an NSAID or other medications during pregnancy. We selected as cases infants with any congenital anomaly (ICD-9; 740-759) diagnosed in the first year of life. Up to 10 controls, defined as infants with no congenital anomalies detected were selected for each case. Adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated. RESULTS: Within the registry, 36,387 pregnant women met the inclusion criteria. We identified 93 births with congenital anomalies in 1056 women (8.8%) who filled prescriptions for NSAIDs in the first trimester of pregnancy, compared to 2478 in 35,331 (7%) women who did not. The adjusted OR for any congenital anomalies for women who filled a prescription for NSAIDs in the first trimester was 2.21 (95% CI=1.72-2.85). The adjusted OR for the anomalies related to cardiac septal closure was 3.34 (95% CI=1.87-5.98). There were no significant associations with anomalies of other major organ systems. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that women prescribed NSAIDs during early pregnancy may be at a greater risk of having children with congenital anomalies, specifically cardiac septal defects. Birth Defects Research (Part B), 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. Benjamin Ofori 1, Driss Oraichi 1, Lucie Blais 2, Evelyne Rey 3, Anick Bérard 1Research Center, Sainte-Justine Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada 2Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Montreal, Pavillon Jean-Coutu, Montreal, Quebec, Canada 3Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, Pavillon Roger-Gaudry, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

We may be taught not to judge a book by its cover, but when we see a new face, our brains decide whether a person is attractive and trustworthy within a tenth of a second, according to recent Princeton research. Princeton University psychologist Alex Todorov has found that people respond intuitively to faces so rapidly that our reasoning minds may not have time to influence the reaction -- and that our intuitions about attraction and trust are among those we form the fastest. "The link between facial features and character may be tenuous at best, but that doesn't stop our minds from sizing other people up at a glance," said Todorov, an assistant professor of psychology. "We decide very quickly whether a person possesses many of the traits we feel are important, such as likeability and competence, even though we have not exchanged a single word with them. It appears that we are hard-wired to draw these inferences in a fast, unreflective way." Todorov and co-author Janine Willis, a student researcher who graduated from Princeton in 2005, used timed experiments and found that snap judgments on character are often formed with insufficient time for rational thought. They published their research in the July issue of the journal Psychological Science. The study formed part of Willis' senior thesis work, which was inspired by an earlier paper by Todorov investigating the outcome of a political campaign. "I had done studies with my students that found there was a direct correlation between how competent a campaigning politician's face was and how great his margin of victory turned out in the final election," Todorov said of his earlier work, published in the journal Science last year. "We might assume that our judgments are founded on deliberate and rational thought processes, but observers had made their judgments about politicians based on a one-second look at their faces. I mentioned the findings to Janine, who suggested we look into just how fast we form these (judgments about) character traits." For the current study, the two researchers conducted several experiments on about 200 people. For one experiment, the researchers asked observers to look at 66 different faces for one of three time durations: either 100 milliseconds, 500 milliseconds or a full second. After each face flashed on the screen and vanished, the observers marked whether they found the face to be trustworthy or not, and also how confident they were in their analysis. Other experiments conducted in similar fashion tested for different specific traits, such as likeability and competence. "What we found was that, if given more time, people's fundamental judgment about faces did not change," Todorov said. "Observers simply became more confident in their judgments as the duration lengthened." Why the brain makes such snap judgments is not yet entirely clear, Todorov said. However, he often works with a sophisticated technological tool for probing brain activity called a functional magnetic resonance imager (fMRI), and Todorov said some of his general research suggests that the part of the brain that responds directly to fear may be involved in judgments of trustworthiness. "The fear response involves the amygdala, a part of the brain that existed in animals for millions of years before the development of the prefrontal cortex, where rational thoughts come from," he said. "We imagine trust to be a rather sophisticated response, but our observations indicate that trust might be a case of a high-level judgment being made by a low-level brain structure. Perhaps the signal bypasses the cortex altogether." The research, Todorov said, explores some of the same topics addressed in "Blink," the recent best-selling book by New York journalist Malcolm Gladwell about the rapid cognition our minds experience when making decisions quickly, especially those based on first impressions made in the "blink" of an eye. Gladwell, who is often described as a type of popular sociologist, has said the impetus for his book was the rapid judgments people made about him because of his long hair. "This paper's results concern specific mechanisms in the mind, while 'Blink' makes broader generalizations," Todorov said. "Gladwell's basic message is not essentially different from ours, though he views snap judgments to be primarily rational in nature. Our research finds that this is often the case, but not always." Todorov cautioned that his findings do not imply, however, that quick first impressions cannot be overcome by the rational mind. "As time passes and you get to know people, you, of course, develop a more rounded conception of them," he said. "But because we make these judgments without conscious thought, we should be aware of what is happening when we look at a person's face." What aspects of a face inspire such judgments remain undetermined, Todorov said. "We still don't know the physical features of a face that lead to a particular trait inference," he said. "We know generally what makes a face attractive, such as its symmetry, the proportions of its parts and the like. But what is it about a face that makes you think its owner is an essentially competent person? That's the subject of another study, one that needs to be done." This research was sponsored in part by the National Science Foundation. Abstract First Impressions: Making Up Your Mind After a 100-Ms Exposure to a Face Janine Willis and Alexander Todorov, Princeton University People often draw trait inferences from the facial appearance of other people. We investigated the minimal conditions under which people make such inferences. In five experiments, each focusing on a specific trait judgment, we manipulated the exposure time of unfamiliar faces. Judgments made after a 100-ms exposure correlated highly with judgments made in the absence of time constraints, suggesting that this exposure time was sufficient for participants to form an impression. In fact, for all judgments — attractiveness, likeability, trustworthiness, competence, and aggressiveness—increased exposure time did not significantly increase the correlations. When exposure time increased from 100 to 500 ms, participants’ judgments became more negative, response times for judgments decreased, and confidence in judgments increased. When exposure time increased from 500 to 1,000 ms, trait judgments and response times did not change significantly (with one exception), but confidence increased for some of the judgments; this result suggests that additional time may simply boost confidence in judgments. However, increased exposure time led to more differentiated person impressions.

Alumni of the former Eisenhower College returned to Seneca Falls August 4-6 to celebrate their annual homecoming weekend at New York Chiropractic College, once home to Eisenhower College. This year’s event marked the 30th anniversary of the Class of 1976 and the 25th anniversary of the Class of 1981. Though held in the dead of summer, celebrations included a “New Year’s Eve Party,” in keeping with the long-standing November tradition at Eisenhower College. On Saturday, alumni enjoyed a picnic lunch and presentation of Eisenhower College Alumni Association (ECAA) scholarship awards to Mynderse Academy students Jonathan R. Young and Matthew B. Quinn. ECAA Archivist Virginia “Gigi” Carnes lectured on the Eisenhower archival collection’s history and the alumni association’s future goals for archiving presidential and college memorabilia currently on display in the New York Chiropractic College library. There was also a rededicated of Punkin Park, a grassy expanse named for Joseph Andrew “Punkin” Campbell. The son of Eisenhower College philosophy professor James Campbell and his wife, Mary Ann, Punkin lost his life in a tragic accident in 1973 at the age of 8. On Saturday, NYCC faculty and graduates currently serving in the New York Guard conducted a flag-raising ceremony to commemorate the 40th anniversary of President and Mrs. Dwight D. Eisenhower‘s gift of the campus flagpole, presented by their son John on December 12, 1966. The flag they raised was flown over the U.S. Capitol building on May 28 of this year to honor the 34th anniversary of the graduation of Eisenhower College’s charter class, and in honor of NYCC. Pam Havens, ECAA chair, expressed the organization’s wishes to “acknowledge our very special and unique bond to this area and to our hosts and friends at New York Chiropractic College.” The ECAA Legacy Award, presented this year to New York Chiropractic College, traditionally recognizes those who have made significant contributions to perpetuating the legacy of Eisenhower College, its world-studies education, or the ECAA itself. Drs. Frank Nicchi, president of NYCC, and Beth Donohue, NYCC’s liaison to Eisenhower’s alumni association, received the award on behalf of NYCC on two separate occasions. Donohue was lauded by the ECAA for having helped pave the way for collaboration between the former and current colleges, and was named as an “Honorary Alumnus” of Eisenhower College. A cocktail party, dinner and awards ceremony honored distinguished alumni and faculty and closed the homecoming events. According to Havens, the Eisenhower College Alumni Association has thrived for nearly 25 years and will continue to work to keep the unique memory of Eisenhower College alive.

On August 14, 2006, Governor Pataki announced a comprehensive plan designed to extend the time for employees and volunteers injured in the rescue, recovery and cleanup operations after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center to file a claim for workers' compensation benefits and to receive prompt access to medical benefits while their claims are being litigated. Although it has been almost five years since the tragic events of September 11th, many people who participated in the rescue, recovery and cleanup efforts may have hidden health issues or suffer serious, disabling medical conditions that developed more than two years after their participation which may entitle them to workers' compensation benefits. Workers' Compensation Law, Article 8-A As a key part of his plan, Governor Pataki signed into law Article 8-A of the Workers' Compensation Law (hereinafter "WCL"), which extends the time for employees and volunteers who participated in rescue, recovery and cleanup operations following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center to file claims for workers' compensation benefits, provided they register with the Board before August 14, 2007. (Chapter 446 of the Laws of 2006). In order to register, those employees and volunteers who participated in World Trade Center rescue, recovery and cleanup operations (hereinafter "WTC operations") must file with the Workers' Compensation Board (hereinafter "Board") a sworn statement, on Form WTC-12, listing the dates and locations of their participation in the rescue, recovery and cleanup efforts. The filing of the registration form (Form WTC-12) does NOT constitute the filing of a claim. The filing of the sworn statement does however extend the time to file a claim. With respect to claims that were previously filed and denied as untimely under WCL §18 or §28, upon the filing of the sworn statement the claim will be reopened by the Board to reconsider this claim. This new legislation is effective immediately and is deemed to have been in effect since September 11, 2001. It will apply retroactively. A number of key terms are defined in new Article 8-A. WCL §161 defines a "participant in World Trade Center rescue, recovery or cleanup operations" as any employee or volunteer, who between September 11, 2001 and September 12, 2002: (i) participated in the rescue, recovery or cleanup operations at the World Trade Center site; (ii) worked at the Fresh Kills Land Fill in New York City; (iii) worked at the New York City morgue or the temporary morgue on pier locations on the west side of Manhattan; or (iv) worked on the barges between the west side of Manhattan and the Fresh Kills Land Fill in New York City. The term "World Trade Center site" is defined as "anywhere below a line starting from the Hudson River and Canal Street; east on Canal Street to Pike Street; south on Pike Street to the East River; and extending to the lower tip of Manhattan." Finally, a "qualifying condition" means "any latent disease or condition resulting from a hazardous exposure during participation in" WTC operations. This legislation also modifies the employer notice requirements with regard to claims for "qualifying conditions" resulting from participation in WTC operations. Under the Workers' Compensation Law, a claimant is required to provide notice of a work-related injury to his or her employer "within thirty days after the accident causing such injury" WCL §18. However, pursuant to WCL §163, a claimant with a "qualifying condition" will have two years from the date of disablement or the date when he or she knew or should have known that the latent condition was causally related to his/her participation in WTC operations to provide notice to the employer who employed the participant at the time of his/her participation in the rescue, recovery or cleanup operations. In the case of a volunteer, the volunteer must provide notice to the Board within two years of the date of disablement or the date when he/she should have known that the latent condition was causally related to his/her participation in WTC operations. Article 8-A applies to all pending and future claims filed or to be filed by participants in the World Trade Center rescue, recovery and cleanup operations, including those claims already disallowed because timely notice was not given to the employer (WCL §18) or the claim was not timely filed with the Board (WCL §28). WCL §165 expressly provides that claims previously brought by employees and volunteers who participated in WTC operations, which claims were disallowed based on the claimant's failure to provide timely notice to the employer or to file a timely claim for benefits, will be reopened and redetermined in accordance with the provisions of WCL Article 8-A, provided the claimant files a sworn statement with the Board before August 14, 2007. WCL §166 makes clear that claims brought by employees who participated in WTC operations in the course of their employment will be the liability of the insurance carrier on the risk for the employer on the date that the employee last participated in WTC operations, which is considered the date of accident. With respect to claims by volunteers, WCL §167 provides that benefits will be payable out of federal funds appropriated to the Board for that purpose. However, the uninsured employers' fund shall be deemed to be the employer only for the purposes of administering and paying claims for which it will be reimbursed from federal funds. Benefits to volunteers are payable to the extent that federal funds are appropriated and available for that purpose. Employees and volunteers who participated in rescue, recovery and/or clean-up operations at the World Trade Center site, the Fresh Kills Landfill, the New York City morgue or temporary morgue or the barges between the west side of Manhattan and the Fresh Kills Landfill between September 11, 2001 and September 12, 2002, who were exposed to hazardous conditions must file the registration statement, Board Form WTC-12, before August 14, 2007, in order for the provisions of Article 8-A to apply. Employees and volunteers who do not file the registration statement before August 14, 2007, will not have the benefit of the statute of limitations and notice provisions in Article 8-A. Instead, such claims will be governed by the provisions of WCL §18 and §28, which require notice to the employer within 30 days of the accident and the filing of a claim within two years. Payment Without Prejudice WCL §21-a allows an employer or its insurance carrier to pay workers' compensation lost wage and medical benefits to an injured employee for up to one year without admitting liability for the claim and without prejudice to its right to controvert the claim. At any time during that one-year period, the employer or carrier may provide notice that it is ceasing temporary payments and may then controvert the claim if its investigation reveals that it should not be liable. Rather than automatically controverting the claim, self-insured employers and workers' compensation insurance carriers are encouraged to voluntarily pay lost wage and medical benefits pursuant to WCL §21-a in those claims in which liability is uncertain and more time is needed to investigate the claim. Doing so will provide benefits to injured claimants, while preserving the right of an employer or carrier to later controvert a claim based on the results of its investigation. The employer or carrier is required to provide notice to the claimant and the Board that payments without prejudice have begun by filing Form C-669. Termination of temporary payments by the employer or carrier must be in accordance with the five day notice provisions of WCL §21-a (3). Temporary Payment from Volunteer Fund In claims arising out of employee participation in World Trade Center operations which are controverted by the self-insured employer or insurance carrier, the Board, in the interest of justice, has directed the World Trade Center Volunteer Fund to temporarily pay for a claimant's causally related medical treatment, until liability for the claim is ultimately determined. The World Trade Center Volunteer Fund is the money appropriated by the federal government to the Uninsured Employers' Fund (hereinafter UEF) for claims of volunteers. If claimant's employer or its insurance carrier is ultimately determined to be liable for the claim, the employer or carrier will reimburse the UEF for the cost of medical treatment paid while the claim was being litigated upon demand therefore. Any notice of decision containing a finding that the employer or its carrier is liable to pay the claim will include a direction to the employer or carrier to reimburse the UEF for amounts paid from the World Trade Center Volunteer Fund within thirty days from presentation of a demand by the UEF for reimbursement. Self-insured employers and insurance carriers who have controverted claims by employees for injuries or illnesses caused by participation in WTC operations, which have not yet been established, are directed to submit to the Board within 15 days of the date of this Announcement, and monthly thereafter, an itemized list of all medical bills to be paid from the World Trade Center Volunteer Fund detailing the date of treatment, name and address of the medical provider, diagnostic codes and the amount of the outstanding medical bill(s). The medical bills and the accompanying medical reports must be attached to the itemized list. Board Form WTC-16 MUST accompany each itemized list with attached medical bills and accompanying medical reports sent to the Board for payment initially and monthly thereafter. Health Providers must still request authorization from the self-insured employer or insurance carrier. The self-insured employers and carriers are directed to timely respond to all requests for authorization for special medical services pursuant to the procedures outlined in WCL 13-a(5) and 12 NYCRR 325-1.4(b). Health Providers must continue to forward medical bills to the insurance carrier of record. Reimbursement for pharmaceutical expenses will be accepted although reimbursement for claimants travel allowances will not be payable from this fund. Employer/Carrier Approval of Medical Treatment Medical providers are required by law to seek prior approval from the employer or its insurance carrier for any procedure costing more than $500. Sometimes the required approval cannot be obtained in a timely fashion. Recognizing this, the Board developed a procedure in 2002 to enable medical providers to request Board intervention whenever an employer or insurance carrier fails to promptly respond to a request for authorization, a procedure commonly referred to as the "MD-1 process". See WCB Subject Number 046-116, issued November 24, 2003. Employers and insurance carriers are urged in all cases, and particularly in those claims arising out of an employee or volunteer's participation in WTC operations following the September 11, 2001 attacks, to promptly respond to all requests for authorization of medical treatment. Additionally, medical providers are strongly encouraged to take advantage of the Board's MD-1 process when they do not receive a prompt response to a request for medical authorization. Donna Ferrara Chair

(Arlington, Va. - Aug. 16, 2006) Humana has agreed to a class action settlement resolving claims on behalf of chiropractors and other health care providers in Solomon v. Anthem, et. al., pending before Judge Frederico Moreno of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The ACA participated, through its counsel, in the settlement discussions and is a signatory to the proposed class action settlement agreement. If approved by the Court, Humana will pay $3.5 million to fund payments to class member chiropractors and other health care providers as well as fees and costs advanced by class counsel. Plaintiffs in the Solomon action recently filed a motion seeking to add the ACA as a named plaintiff in the Solomon case and requesting that ACN Group, Inc. and United Healthcare Services, Inc. be added as defendants. The case against ACN, United Healthcare Services and all remaining defendants is still pending. In addition to the cash fund described above, terms of the proposed settlement agreement with Humana include: • Changes in Humana’s business practices, intended to make its claims editing process more transparent and reduce confusion and disagreement over payments. • Online information provided by Humana to help providers understand its payment decisions. • More options for chiropractors and other health care providers to challenge Humana payment decisions in the future, if necessary. • Independent external reviews to resolve billing disputes. • The appointment of an ACA representative to a newly formed Humana health care provider advisory committee, which will provide a means of direct communication on issues and concerns. “We are extremely pleased that Humana has agreed to compensate chiropractors and other non-MD providers for claims that were previously and wrongly denied,” commented ACA President Richard Brassard, DC. “More importantly, however, we are heartened that Humana has committed to improving its business practices in the future and are hopeful that other networks and insurance companies will follow suit. Doing so can only benefit the nation’s health care consumers, who also deserve fair treatment and reimbursement.” As part of the settlement, doctors of chiropractic will be permitted to assign their portion of the recovery to the ACA, if they wish to do so. For a copy of the settlement agreement, click on the link below.

Patients in New York who need physical therapist services can now go directly to their physical therapist without having to wait to receive a referral from a physician. New York is the 43rd state to pass "direct access" legislation that eliminates, under certain conditions, the physician referral requirement for patients needing physical therapist services. The Consumer Access to Physical Therapy bill, S3169/A5622, passed the legislature with bipartisan support and was signed into law late yesterday by Governor George E Pataki. It will become effective in 120 days. This new law will allow patients to directly access the services of a licensed physical therapist for ten visits or thirty days, whichever comes first. "Physical therapists have been working with the state legislature to achieve direct access for patients for nearly 25 years. Now patients in New York, like patients in many other states, will have improved access to physical therapy care. This bill is a thoughtful piece of legislation with patient safety taking the highest priority," said James Dunleavy, PT, MS, president of the New York Physical Therapy Association (NYPTA). "The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) applauds the state legislature for passing this important legislation to provide patients with direct access to physical therapist services," said APTA President R Scott Ward, PT, PhD. "Direct access helps to remove unnecessary barriers to healthcare and gives consumers a choice in accessing physical therapist services. Many states have had direct access laws on the books for nearly 30 years and evidence has shown that direct access to physical therapist services is cost-effective, safe and has improved access to care. Now residents of New York will be able to benefit from the same access to quality physical therapy services." The New York Physical Therapy Association (NYPTA) is a non-profit professional association of approximately 5,000 physical therapists, physical therapist assistants and students. The NYPTA is dedicated to serving the public's health interests, improving the standard of health for people of all ages and advancing the benefits of physical therapy and the interests of physical therapy professionals in the state of New York. The American Physical Therapy Association is a national professional organization representing more than 66,000 members. Its goal is to foster advancements in physical therapy practice, research, and education. For more information visit The New York Physical Therapy Association (NYPTA) by clicking on the link:

As Many as 540,000 New Yorkers were at risk for identity theft after a security breach was detected. Claimants of NYS Special Funds, a workers compensation carrier, recently received letters describing the possible theft of a personal computer, which contained their private information. However, it was reported today that the computer has been located and is secure. FBI is "reasonably certain" the information was not misused Read the story by clicking on the link: