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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. ACTION ON MEDICARE LEGISLATION TO HEAT UP 1. ACTION ON MEDICARE LEGISLATION TO HEAT UP The House GOP leadership has instructed the House committees with jurisdiction over the federal Medicare program (House Ways & Means Committee; House Commerce Committee) to report our package of legislative reforms to the Medicare program as soon as possible -- with the goal of passing the legislative package through the full House of Representatives prior to the Memorial Day recess period, scheduled to begin May 24. The legislation is expected to include some version of a Medicare prescription drug benefit and make adjustments to the formula used to determine provider payment under Medicare's RBRVS payment system. (The current formula has resulted in an unintended reduction in provider payment rates, a situation that is expected to continue for several years to come unless Congress acts to rework the existing formula.) Capitol Hill observers feel the legislative package will also contain a variety of other Medicare revisions sought by various interests and provider groups. Because this package will be the only Medicare legislative vehicle likely to be considered by the House this year, the ACA will launch an intensified grassroots campaign to include the Watkins Bill (H.R. 902) or a version of it, in the Medicare reform bill. The intent of the Watkins Bill is to dramatically increase the number of services doctors of chiropractic would be allowed to provide and be reimbursed for under the Medicare program. The ACA will begin issuing a new series of Legislative Alert bulletins on this issue beginning this week. These bulletins will encourage doctors of chiropractic to make a maximum effort to enlist their patients to become involved in the lobbying effort. To bolster support for inclusion of the Watkins Bill into the larger package of legislative reforms to Medicare, the ACA will also promote the findings of the Muse Report. The Muse Report was commissioned by the ACA and utilizes CMS (formerly HCFA) reimbursement data to demonstrate that total Medicare expenditures (on a per capita basis) are significantly less in the Medicare program for beneficiaries that receive chiropractic care versus those that do not. Here is the link to the Alert Bulletin -- http://www.acatoday.com/hot_topics/041602.shtml. And here is the link to the Muse report -- http://www.acatoday.com/hot_topics/041602.shtml 2. CHIROPRACTIC HISTORIAN CHRONICLES STRUGGLES IN VA AND DOD Joe Keating, Phd, a well-known chiropractic historian, read my report two weeks ago regarding the American Legion and its support for the chiropractic benefit for veterans. He thought that you and I might be interested in a chronology he put together regarding chiropractic in the military and the treatment of veterans stretching from World War I through the Korean conflict. The Chronology of Chiropractors in the Military and Veterans Affairs is jam packed with great stories documenting our struggle with the military and veterans' bureaucracy. I have provided below the link to this report, which printed out is 30-plus pages long. Included in the document is the discussion about our efforts as early as World War I to be part of the Military Health Corps, and in 1925 the efforts to lobby Congress to make chiropractic a permanent benefit in the Veterans Administration. There are numerous pictures sprinkled throughout the document, including a 1941 photo of Eleanor Roosevelt with Congressman John Tolan and Dr. Emmett Murphy, NCA Washington Representative; our doctors in combat zones; supporting the war bond efforts; and the official membership card for doctors in the military with the special name of "Chiros." If you are at all interested in the history of chiropractic, this is a great document to review. If you have any similar stories that you wish to share with Dr. Keating, please forward them to him at JCKEATING@aol.com. He is thinking about writing a comprehensive history of chiropractic during World War II. One final note: Reading about our early struggles in getting into the military and lobbying Congress regarding the Veterans Administration and the DOD makes me that much prouder about what we have accomplished the last two years. I know that without the efforts of the doctors in the 20s, 30s and 40s, we would not have had the successes that we have recently enjoyed. Here is the link to this report: http://www.acatoday.com/pdf/VetHistory.pdf 3. CHIROPRACTIC POSTAGE STAMP: IT HAS TO HAPPEN SOMETIME Chiropractors in Canada have a stamp. Even Elvis has one. But for some reason, probably obvious to most of us, chiropractic has not been able to convince the U.S. Postal Service to commission a stamp on this profession. And it's not as easy as it appears. The usual political pressures that we have been able to apply in getting things done for this profession do not work in this instance. Back in 1995 there was a concerted effort by the profession to have a stamp authorized to commemorate chiropractic's centennial. We used one of our consultants almost full time pushing the issue. The problem is that the decision on who gets a stamp, which is ultimately made by the Postmaster General, is based on the recommendations of the 15-member Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee. Once appointed, these individuals are basically immune from political pressure. Making it even more difficult is that the U.S. Postal Service does not print their business addresses, so you can't lobby them directly. Instead, you must rely on a message being conveyed in letters sent to a central location and hope that you can generate sufficient volume to be put on the agenda of the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee meeting. Each year, the committee considers thousands of requests for postage stamps, and on average issue 30 to 35 commemorative stamps a year. We encourage you to send a letter to: Stamp Advisory Committee, U.S. Postal Service, Stamp Development, Room 5671, L'Enfant Plaza SW, Washington, D.C. 20260-2437. All the major chiropractic organizations are in support of this effort. A sample letter can be found on our Web site at the following address: http://www.acatoday.com/hot_topics/110801.shtml There is something else that you can do as well. The following is a list of individuals who serve on the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee. If you are familiar with any of these individuals on a personal basis, please let us know. If we can get individuals within the committee to start pushing our issue, we will have a better chance to have our stamp accepted. Members of the committee include: Cary R. Brick (Retired U.S. Congressional Staff, Adjunct Professor of Government and History); Michael Brock (Graphic Designer, Michael Brock Design); Meredith J. Davis (Professor/Department Head, School of Design, North Carolina State University); David Eynon (Writer); Jean Picker Firstenberg (Director & Chief Executive Officer, American Film Institute); Sylvia Harris (Graphic Design Planner, Author and Professor); Michael Heyman (Chancellor Emeritus, University of California - Berkley, Secretary Emeritus, Smithsonian Institute); John M. Hotchner (Office Director, Consular Affairs, U.S. Department of State; Philatelic Writer, Editor, Lecturer and Judge American Philatelic Society Board); Dr. C. Douglass Lewis (Vice Chairperson, Curator, Sculpture and Decorative Arts, National Gallery of Art; Professor, University Honors Program, University of Maryland); Karl Malden (Actor); Dr. Phillip Meggs (Author and Research Professor, School of the Arts - Virginia Commonwealth University); Dr. Virginia Noelke (Chairperson, Professor of History - Angelo State University); Richard Phelps (Television, Sports Commentator); Ronald Robinson (Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer - Cranford, Johnson, Robinson, Woods); and John Sawyer III (Vice President, Midwest Region - Achieva.com College Prep Services) 4. BLUE CCHIP PROGRAM CONTINUES TO SHOW BENEFITS Horizon Blue Cross/Blue Shield of New Jersey notified ACA two weeks go that they would be making an appointment of a doctor of chiropractic to their Medical Policy Making Committee. ACA's New Jersey Delegate, Dr. Frank Stiso, will fill this post. Last week, Dr. Richard Dietzen, Illinois Blue CCHIP liaison notified us that he recommended Dr. Richard Fay, who has been appointed to the Illinois Blue Cross/Blue Shield Provider Selection Committee, which credentials and approves doctors of chiropractic for network participation. To our knowledge, these are the first official appointments of the Blue CCHIP communications program aimed at increasing clinical integration into Blue Cross/Blue Shield policymaking as it impacts doctors of chiropractic. 5. ACA COUNCIL ON DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING PRESENTS INTERESTING SEMINAR The annual Council on Diagnostic Imaging's (CDI) Spring Symposium will be held May 4-5, 2002, at the Oak Lawn Hilton in Oak Lawn, Illinois. This year will debut a slightly different format with exhibitors and two concurrent sessions on each day. Speakers include: Dr. Gary Guebert, Dr. Gary Schultz, Dr. Ruth Ramsey, Dr. Tim Mick, Dr. Bryan Hosler and Dr. James Mertz. For a copy of the seminar brochure, go to http://www.accr.org/cdi_2002.htm. 6. SPECIAL FOOT LEVELERS CHIROPRACTIC EXTRAVAGANZA IN NEWARK!!! Foot Levelers' 50th Anniversary Celebration Conference in Newark, New Jersey, is a cost-effective and fun way for you to earn up to 18 license-renewal credits. Doctors of chiropractic pay ONLY $99 when they sign up at least 5 days in advance. With early registration, chiropractic assistants and students can attend for JUST $49. The conference, which consists of a three-day weekend of lectures, expositions and festivities, kicks off Friday morning (April 26) and ends Sunday at noon (April 28). Some of the biggest names in chiropractic are scheduled to appear: · Dr. Mark Charrette - Charrette Adjusting Protocols · Dr. William Austin - Spinal Pelvic Stabilization · Dr. Kathleen Baumgardner - Caring for the Female Athlete · Dr. Kim Christensen - Chiropractic Rehabilitation Utilizing Outcome Management · Dr. Patrick Gentempo - The Incredible Power of Uncommon Commitment · Dr. John Hyland - Spondylolysis and Spondylolisthesis · Dr. David Jackson - The Power of Intent · Dr. K.S.J. Murkowski - How to Get Paid for What You Do It's For a Good Cause Although fun will be in the air, Foot Levelers is making a serious contribution to the chiropractic community. Half of all proceeds from this special event will go to the chiropractic college of your choice. The other half will benefit the National Chiropractic Legal Action Fund (NCLAF) (http://www.acatoday.com/legal/), which is seeking to: a) protect the profession's continued inclusion in Medicare through its exclusive right to detect and correct subluxations, and b) end the practice of reimbursement discrimination by insurance companies. Support the National Chiropractic Legal Action Fund and your alma mater today! Register Today! Just call Foot Levelers toll-free at 1-800-553-4860 (Canada: 1-800-344-4860) and mention Key Code 1027. Better yet, SAVE $10 when you go to http://www.footlevelers.com/doctors/shop/seminarfram.htm?pg=156 and register online! If you don't have an authorized password to access the web site with the given link, you can go to https://www.footlevelers.com/register.cfm and register to obtain one. Once you sign up, Foot Levelers will e-mail you the confirmed password to you within three days. It's that easy. You may also email Foot Levelers at: service@footlevelers.com. 7. CAN'T ACCESS THESE LINKS? Some of you have been unable to download my PDF links. To view these file types, you need Adobe's Acrobat Reader. This is a free utility available at www.adobe.com. If you need further assistance viewing anything referred to in this report, please email me at gcuneo@amerchiro.org. We have placed my weekly EVP report on our Web site, where members and non-members can download the report in various formats. We will have the report available in "Publications," "EVP Report." The report is available in .html and .txt formats. |
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