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Memorandum
To: ACA Members, Board of Governors, House of
Delegates and Other Interested Parties
From: Gary Cuneo
Re: ACA EVP Weekly Report
Date: January 6, 2002
Vision: The ACA seeks a transformation in health care from a focus on disease to a focus on wellness.
This week's report includes the following items:
1. CCE DESERVES OUR SUPPORT
2. ACA EXPLORING MEDICARE FRAUD INVESTIGATION POLICIES WITH CMS AND CONGRESS
3. LATEST ON WELLNESS
4. ESTABLISHING DOCTORS OF CHIROPRACTIC AS WELLNESS EXPERTS
5. SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
6. COMPARISON OF ORGANIZATION STATISTICS: DO YOU STILL NEED A REASON TO JOIN THE ACA?
7. PRACTICE PROMOTION FOR THE NEW YEAR
8. CAN'T ACCESS THESE LINKS?
1. CCE DESERVES OUR SUPPORT
In recent weeks, the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) has been under attack by some elements in the profession regarding their action in removing accreditation status from Life University. ACA does not share in this criticism. ACA has been -- and continues to be -- a strong supporter of CCE's activities, and while the impact on Life's students by the decision is regrettable, we understand that CCE followed a fair and comprehensive due process in arriving at its decision. CCE needs to be supported. Those of you in the profession who were around during the seventies when the "educational wars" were fought will agree that it was the emergence of CCE as the sole accrediting agency recognized by the federal government that upgraded chiropractic education and helped to bring about a degree of unity in the profession. The days when you decided who your friends were by the school from which they graduated were set aside, and chiropractic education was allowed to grow free from the politics of organized chiropractic. I can tell you from my own experience of lobbying the state and federal legislatures, that the emergence of CCE has been a tremendous help in advancing our legislative agendas. Quality education is important to legislatures, and CCE has made this its highest priority.
The educational standards of the CCE are constantly being reviewed and upgraded by the CCE. The CCE has always made a concerted effort to gain input from various organizations and individuals within the profession during this process. The ACA recently took this opportunity by suggesting that the procedures regarding colleges seeking status should be reviewed so that institutions do not have to be in full compliance with CCE standards before they can apply.
We believe this proposal will help not only emerging chiropractic colleges like FSU, but also those like Life University that have indicated to us a desire to take a different direction from the past administration.
2. ACA EXPLORING MEDICARE FRAUD INVESTIGATION POLICIES WITH CMS AND CONGRESS
The stated policy of federal enforcement agencies has long been that innocent billing or coding errors do not constitute fraud and will not be investigated or prosecuted as fraud under federal fraud and abuse laws and regulations. Medicare carriers are also instructed under the CMS Program Integrity Manual to conduct educational efforts with providers in order to identify and correct potential billing errors. A potential concern has been raised with the ACA that former or current Medicare Carriers may not have engaged in the type of provider education that would have properly and adequately educated providers prior to the initiation of fraud investigations. In a recent eight page letter to the office of a member of Congress, ACA's Legal Counsel detailed the fairly extensive carrier obligations to conduct such educational efforts in order to spot and correct potential errors at an early stage. The ACA has also discussed the issue with CMS in order to come to a clearer understanding as to when the educational efforts stop and when a fraud investigation begins. Our goal is to provide a better understanding of the process for both our membership and the Medicare Carriers. We also hope to be of assistance to members who may have found themselves the target of an investigation for innocent billing errors and who may not have had the benefit of appropriate carrier education.
3. LATEST ON WELLNESS
As reported previously, we have received a completed wellness survey from the chief academic officer at each of the accredited chiropractic colleges and have pulled this data together into a workable format. Dr. Ronald Rupert of Parker College has offered to clinically analyze this data and expects to return his results before the winter holiday or shortly thereafter. Upon receiving his results, we will forward them to the members of the ACA Wellness Committee and work towards a meeting to determine what our next steps will be with this campaign. The plan will be weighted to public messages, marketing/advertising and outreach with other wellness based professional groups.
Copies of the ACA Wellness Policy can be found on pages 33-48 of this link: <http://www.acatoday.com/pdf/2002_aca_policies.pdf>
4. ESTABLISHING DOCTORS OF CHIROPRACTIC AS WELLNESS EXPERTS
ACA's wellness campaign committee and newly revised Long Range Plan are good first steps in establishing doctors of chiropractic as wellness practitioners in the minds of the health care community and the general public, according to an article by Cheryl Hawk, DC, PhD, in the December 16, 2002 issue of Dynamic Chiropractic: <http://www.chiroweb.com/archives/20/26/06.html>
Dr. Hawk, a member of ACA's wellness campaign committee, advises the profession that it must take action now to distinguish itself from medical physicians "in our focus on health rather than disease" and to shed the "back doctor" or "spine jockey" images many people have of doctors of chiropractic.
As Dr. Hawk points out, ACA's Long Range Plan emphasizes educating the public on "the importance of conservative health options offered by doctors of chiropractic as wellness experts" and motivating "the public to follow good health habits for optimum function and wellness."
Dr. Hawk and her colleagues on ACA's wellness campaign committee have concluded that the profession must do two things to be seen as primary care providers focusing on wellness: (1) educate the public that DCs provide "patient-centered" care and help patients improve through self-care, and (2) join with other professions, groups and agencies - like the American Public
Health Association - to demonstrate that the profession is concerned about the health of the world. ACA's Long Range Plan, which can be found on our Web site at <http://www.acatoday.com/about/vision.shtml>, also addresses these concerns.
Dr. Hawk presented a report on the ACA Wellness campaign during the interdisciplinary session sponsored by the Chiropractic Health Care Section of the American Public Health Association (APHA) at APHA's November meeting in Philadelphia, and was very well-received.
5. SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
Each day, ACA keeps a watchful eye on media portrayals of the chiropractic profession and responds - via phone, fax and e-mail -- to both positive and negative reports in an effort to build relationships with, and educate, the media. Two recent negative articles have caught our attention and we've "set the record straight" with them.
A November 18 article in USA Today featured recent problems in California where some chiropractic clinics have allegedly served as fronts for prostitution rings. ACA President Dr. Daryl Wills responded with a letter pointing out ACA's staunch position against fraudulent and unethical activity within the profession's ranks and explained that these cases are the rare exception rather than the rule.
An article in the November/December 2002 issue of the National Headache Foundation's newsletter, NHF Headlines, claimed that there is little proof for chiropractic's effectiveness in treating headaches and that it is dangerous. Dr. Wills also responded to this publication, citing the recent Duke University study on spinal manipulation for headaches and research documenting the extremely rare chance of an adverse reaction to cervical manipulation.
These and other ACA letters can be found on our Web site at
<http://www.acatoday.com/media/record/>.
6. COMPARISON OF ORGANIZATION STATISTICS: DO YOU STILL NEED A REASON TO JOIN THE ACA?
American Chiropractic Association
Members: 18,000
Employees: 40
Annual budget: $6.5 million
American Osteopathic Association
Members: 29,757
Employees: 143
Budget: $8.7 million
American Physical Therapy Association
Members: 70,000
Employees: 168
Budget: $25 million
American Medical Association
Members: 297,000
Employees: 1,200
Annual Budget: $190 million
(Source: Association Yellow Book: Who's who at the leading U.S. trade and professional associations; Winter 2001 edition)
If you are a member, please ask a non-member to join. If you are not a member, please consider joining so that we can start to match the resources of those organizations that are seeking the same piece of the health care pie that we are. Here is a link to an ACA membership application: <http://www.acatoday.com/join.shtml>
7. PRACTICE PROMOTION FOR THE NEW YEAR
The seasonal changes are optimal times to submit a short column or article to your local newspaper with tips for readers on how to care for their backs. Submitting articles that include chiropractic-related tips on activities such as snow shoveling or winter sports might help convince a community or local newspaper that you can provide them with a regular column on similar "soft news" as a public service. It can also help to bridge the information gap between your local community and the chiropractic profession. Helpful tips like these can be found in ACA's newly revised Practice Promotion Tool Kit.
To order, click here: <http://www.lighthousemarket.net/acastore/product.asp?dept%5Fid=2&pf%5Fid=1>
8. 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 e-mail me at
gcuneo@amerchiro.org.
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