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Orange County Chiropractic District
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| Memorandum to: ACA Members, Board of Governors, House of
Delegates and Other Interested Parties In this week's report: 1. SENATE MAJORITY LEADER TOM DASCHLE COMMENTS ON VA BILL 2. JUST SPELL MY NAME RIGHT (APTA and AOA SPIN THEIR STORIES) 3. PARRA WINS GOLD MEDAL 4. CORRECTION 5. ACA-PAC: HOW WE STACK UP TO OTHERS (UPDATE) 6. REDISTRICTING WILL CLAIM ANOTHER VICTIM 7. ACA COMMENTS TO INSURANCE COMMISSIONERS REGARDING APPROPRIATE REVIEW 8. COMEDY IS NOT FUNNY: ACA RESPONDS TO DAVID SPADE 9. ACA COMMENTS TO HHS 10. FREE OFFER FROM FCER 11. SEMINARS AT NCLC HELP BUILD AND PROTECT YOUR PRACTICE 1. SENATE MAJORITY LEADER TOM DASCHLE COMMENTS ON VA BILL What is that old expression…success has many fathers and failure is an orphan. I have commented in amusement about the number of organizations taking credit for the passage of the VA bill. I guess I would expect each group to spin the results to suit their audience. So where is the truth? Well, as an ole political hack I believe a strong fulltime lobbying team, a strong PAC and an effective grassroots organization are the ingredients for success. We are the only national organization with these three ingredients. But you don't have to believe this spin doctor, get it from someone with credibility, like the Senate Majority Leader. Even the most ardent zealot would have to recognize his word. In a letter from Senator Daschle to Dr. Kerwin Winkler, he stated in part, "...Because of the leadership and determination from you and the American Chiropractic Association, chiropractic care will soon be extended to both military personnel an our veterans...I appreciate your counsel on this issue and am proud of what we have accomplished together." For the complete letter, go to: http://www.acatoday.com/hot_topics/ 2. JUST SPELL MY NAME RIGHT (APTA and AOA SPIN THEIR STORIES) You know that you have arrived as an organization when your opposition starts to use your name in their membership recruitment letters. Over the last couple of weeks, two of our "friends" have done so: The American Osteopathic Association membership recruitment letter chirped about how "hundreds of osteopaths" had successfully stopped our attempts to be designated as primary care providers in the veterans administration bill… Quoting the letter, "We hate to say it, but this was a close one. What's worse? The issue may soon return. And, when it does, we'll need twice the help. Without your active participation, we may not be so lucky next time." What they fail to note is that chiropractic did become a permanent part of the Veterans Administration and that the legislation includes language on the establishment of protocols for direct access to chiropractic care, one of the reasons that primary care inclusion was important. The APTA has also been using us as their poster boy. In a January 10th membership letter, on the top right hand, they quote an ACA alert that stated, "The physical therapists now make the outlandish claim that they perform spinal manipulation to correct a subluxation." This was referring to their brief to the court, which among other things, stated that they have been correcting a subluxation for years. The opening paragraph of the recruitment letter refers to the quote and states, "I am sure you'll agree that the ACA statement above is outrageous." It then goes on for the next five paragraphs discussing their battles against ACA in the court and the thousands of dollars they have spent in the litigation attempting to intervene in our suit against the federal government. Needless to say, the revised Operational Policy Letter #23 issued by the feds that physical therapists could not be reimbursed for correcting a subluxation has put a damper on the PT's enthusiasm. In fact, in their second statement since the OPL letter was released, they seem to be saying that the policy statement doesn't change anything, which tells me that they have been spending thousands of dollars on a position they care nothing about. See the entire statement at: https://www.apta.org/news/chiro_challenge/cms_update The back hoe seems to be working overtime at the APTA. 3. PARRA WINS GOLD MEDAL Last week, ACA-sponsored speedskater Derek Parra won a gold medal by winning the 1,500-meter race and breaking the world record in the process. The previous week, he won the silver medal in the 5,000-meter race, making him the first double medallist for speedskating this year. His final event was the 10,000-meters this past Friday. He placed 12th. This Olympic star is a regular chiropractic patient, and the ACA along with the ACA Auxiliary have been a sponsor of Mr. Parra since last February. We are naturally proud of our sponsorship. 4. CORRECTION Last week, I noted that Dr. Robin Hunter was a member of the 2002 U.S. Olympic medical staff and in fact had been treating Derek over the last couple of weeks. I also indicated that she was the first doctor to serve on a Winter Olympics medical staff. Well, I was corrected by a number of doctors regarding the latter issue , pointing out that in fact Dr. George Goodhart was the first doctor of chiropractic to "officially" serve at a Winter Olympics with Team USA in 1980, and the first doctor of chiropractic to officially serve at the Olympics. Thanks for the information. 5. ACA-PAC: HOW WE STACK UP TO OTHERS (UPDATE) 2001 was a non-election year, but most PACs were still active. The following are the "hard dollar" contributions made by the ACA and its competitors during the past year, and their balance for January 2002. It should be noted that this doesn't include "soft money" contributions, which are not tracked by the Federal Election Commission. For more details about the contributions and who got the money, go to the Federal Election Commission Web site at: http://www.fec.gov/ · ACA-PAC: $177,370.85 Opening balance for January 2002: $81,877.10 · ICA PAC: $ 6,064.50 Opening balance for January 2002: $11,222.14 (No other national federal PAC is registered) · AOTA PAC: $250,904.01 Opening balance for January 2002: $49.134.95 · APTA PAC: $294,380.60 Opening balance for January 2002: $223,417.39 · AMA PAC: $2,151,886.87 · Opening balance for Janaury 2002: $2,601,597.70 6. REDISTRICTING WILL CLAIM ANOTHER VICTIM I mentioned in my report last week a Republican-dominated legislature and governorship in Michigan were responsible for redrawing district lines and putting two incumbent democratic congressmen, including John Dingell, into the same district. Just to let you know that this activity happens with both parties, the upcoming primary in Georgia features a face-off between two Republican Congressmen, with John Linder and Robert Barr running in the same district. Thanks to the redistricting done by the democratically controlled legislature and governorship. If you are a political junkie, you will appreciate the high drama that occurs when party leaders and special interest groups have to make a choice between two members from the same party. The story in the Washington Post about this race indicated that the National Rifle Association was facing this problem, since both candidates have been strong supporters of the NRA. Politics is a tough business, even more so the first election after redistricting is completed. 7. ACA COMMENTS TO INSURANCE COMMISSIONERS REGARDING APPROPRIATE REVIEW Over the past two decades, insurers and managed care organizations have implemented a wide range of medical review activities that they believe will contain costs. While little has been published on the cost impact of medical review activities, their practices have continued to proliferate. While the ACA believes certain activities may be needed to avert fraud and abuse by a small percentage of providers and/or policyholders, we do not feel the chiropractic profession should be targeted for review activities. We also feel payers should be accountable for review activities so these intervention activities do not intimidate the patient or the provider into averting or entirely forgoing necessary care. The ACA Insurance and Managed Care Committee, which fields national insurance concerns by members, drafted a position paper called Medical Review Benchmarks. Medical Review Benchmarks outlines what constitutes fair medical review practice as it applies to the chiropractic profession. This document comments on a wide range of topics, including the selection of a chiropractic consultant and IME to having a doctor of chiropractic determine guidelines that apply to the profession, as opposed to those who are not knowledgeable in the field. In addition, the benchmarks were reviewed by over 15 national insurers who had input into the process, assuring their reasonable buy-in to the intent of the benchmarks. ACA went one step further and has now placed the document into the hands of each commissioner of insurance in every state in the country, including a letter from ACA president Daryl D. Wills, DC, to lobby for local regulatory changes. For the entire document, please refer to this ACA Web link: http://www.acatoday.com/insurance/policy/benchmarks.shtml 8. COMEDY IS NOT FUNNY: ACA RESPONDS TO DAVID SPADE ACA has once again "set the record" straight on chiropractic. During a recent "Tonight Show" appearance, actor/comedian David Spade jokingly equated being a meteorologist to being a chiropractor. "It's like three weeks of school," he said. While Spade might have been joking, the chiropractic profession certainly wasn't laughing. The ACA has responded to David Spade, pointing out the extensive education doctors of chiropractic receive. A copy of our response can be found on the Web site at: http://www.acatoday.com/media/record/bwr.shtml. 9. ACA COMMENTS TO HHS Taking advantage of the directive by Secretary Tommy Thompson to CMS (formerly HCFA) to conduct a review of its regulations with an eye toward modifying and/or eliminating those that are unreasonable or not supported by statute, the ACA submitted an analysis of the discriminating sections in Medicare Part B as they relate to this profession. This included a history of the collaboration between the AMA and the department that resulted in the erroneous position taken by HCFA twenty years ago, including the stance that x-rays, even though required by statute for treatment, would not be reimbursable. For the complete text, go to the Web site at: http://www.acatoday.com/government/medicare/020502.shtml 10. FREE OFFER FROM FCER "The Week in Chiropractic" is FCER's Monday morning news and research bulletin for the busy doctor of chiropractic. And now it's FREE via e-mail, simply for asking! Sign up using the link below, and let FCER be your source of information. Every Monday in your e-mail inbox you will find the latest on topics that affect you, your patients, and your profession, such as: · Health News in Brief · Inside Chiropractic · Capsule Abstracts on Current Research · FCER Update on Activities and Resources In part, the Mission of FCER is "to provide information needed to document and improve chiropractic health care capacity worldwide." With this in mind, FCER has decided to take this weekly publication and make it FREE to everyone. To receive it, or to see a sample copy, just use the following link and sign up today: http://www.fcer.org/html/Products/subscribe.htm 11. SEMINARS AT NCLC HELP BUILD AND PROTECT YOUR PRACTICE On Saturday, March 9, 2002, from 9:00 am - 4 pm, the ACA will present two special seminars discounted almost 50% for ACA members. ACA members attend for only $69, non-members for $129 and SACA members for $25 The Nuts and Bolts of Hospital Protocol - Presented by Dr. Jon Buriak, chairman of ACA's Hospital Relations Committee, and staff DC at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C., this seminar will offer invaluable information about the critical steps you need to take to request formal staff privileges and to educate hospital staff about chiropractic. ACA's newest hospital privileges resource will be deeply discounted for seminar attendees. Can't make the seminar but need the material? Click here: http://www.lighthousemarket.net/acastore/product.asp?dept%5Fid=2&pf%5Fid=141 HIPAA: What You Need to Know Now - Put an end to the guessing game - get accurate and timely information about HIPAA compliance from these expert speakers: Stanley Nachison, from Information Services at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and Mark Cohen, Esq., attorney, Ober, Kaler, Grimes & Schriver. We'll focus on the administrative simplification aspects of the Health Insurance Accountability and Portability Act (HIPAA), with a primary emphasis on electronic code sets and medical records privacy. We will also discuss the impacts of the recent law that extends the electronic standards deadlines by one year, the requirements of this statute, and medical records privacy. Free 11-page HIPAA summary for seminar attendees. If you're unable to join us but want the information, click here: http://www.lighthousemarket.net/acastore/product.asp?dept%5Fid=2&pf%5Fid=138 Call 1-800-986-4636 to register today -- space is limited. |
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