Memorandum
To: ACA Members, House of Delegates, Board of
Governors and Other Interested Parties
From: Garrett Cuneo
Re: ACA EVP Weekly Report
Date: July 28, 2003
This week's report includes the following items:
1. HR 2560 WOULD BE HARMFUL TO THE PROFESSION
2. SIGNIFICANT CHIROPRACTIC VA PROVISION PASSED OUT OF HOUSE
3. SENATOR SPECTER REAFFIRMS STRONG SUPPORT FOR CHIROPRACTIC PROFESSION
4. CONSUMER TRAFFIC INCREASES FOR "FIND A DOCTOR" SECTION OF ACA'S WEB SITE
5. CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE CHIROPRACTIC SOUL
6. STATE ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE CALL FOCUSED ON LMRPs
7. DID YOU KNOW? HMOs: PREMIUM RATES COULD RISE 18% NEXT YEAR
8. CAN'T ACCESS THESE LINKS?
Please note that the EVP Report will take a one week vacation. Look for the next issue on August 12th.
1. HR 2560 WOULD BE HARMFUL TO THE PROFESSION
If not significantly amended, a bill introduced by Congressman Don Manzullo (R-IL) would have a devastating impact on the chiropractic profession. HR 2560, which has the support of the World Chiropractic Alliance, would impact our ability to utilize E and M Codes and could effect state law. For a more detailed legal analysis prepared by ACA legal counsel Tom Daly, Esq., please visit:
http://www.acatoday.com/pdf/TomDalyanalysis.pdf.
2. SIGNIFICANT CHIROPRACTIC VA PROVISION PASSED OUT OF HOUSE
On July 21st, the U.S. House of Representatives passed by a voice vote the Veterans Health Care Improvement Act (HR 2357) -- legislation that included the provisions of Rep. Jerry Moran's (R-KS) bill to provide the Department of Veterans Affairs with the authority to hire and employ doctors of chiropractic. The Moran bill was designed to eliminate remaining bureaucratic obstacles in order to speed decision-making on establishing chiropractic clinical care positions within the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA). The ACA and the Association of Chiropractic Colleges (ACC) strongly supported this measure and have been working closely with Rep. Moran; Rep. Rob Simmons (R-CT), Chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Health; and Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee.
Other key supporters include Rep. Lane Evans (D-IL), Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA), Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA), Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D-TX), Rep. Jeb Bradley (R-NH) and Rep. John Larson (D-CT). HR 2357 now moves to the U.S. Senate. Earlier this month, the ACA and the ACC lobbying teams met with Senator Arlen Specter, the Chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, to brief him on the need for prompt consideration of the chiropractic provisions of HR 2357. Senator Specter expressed his strong interest in the legislation and in taking steps to ensure that America's former servicemen and women will soon get the chiropractic benefits they need and deserve.
3. SENATOR SPECTER REAFFIRMS STRONG SUPPORT FOR CHIROPRACTIC PROFESSION
On July 9th, the ACA, ACC and the Pennsylvania Chiropractic Association (PCA) jointly led a very successful "chiropractic-only" roundtable meeting with Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), the Chairman of both the Veterans Affairs Committee and an appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over health care issues. Among those participating in the discussions were ACA's Gary Cuneo, Jon Hymes and Dennis Smith, ACA consultants Duke Short and Rick Miller, the ACC's David O'Bryon and PCA Executive Director Gene Veno.
Senator Specter, a featured speaker at the March 2003 National Chiropractic Legislative Conference (NCLC), is a longtime friend of the chiropractic profession and was a strong supporter of the establishment of chiropractic benefits for veterans. After being briefed on implementation delays caused by the VA bureaucracy, he pledged to contact VA Secretary Anthony Principi (another speaker at ACA's NCLC) to urge swift action to get America's veterans the chiropractic care they need and deserve. Specter also expressed his interest in ACA-supported legislation now advancing through the House of Representatives (The Department of Veterans Affairs Chiropractic Employment Act, HR 2357) that would provide the VA with immediate authority to hire and employ doctors of chiropractic. On other issues, Senator Specter pledged to continue to support Senator Grassley's efforts to pass the Medicare Full Scope Chiropractic Demonstration Project and committed to supporting malpractice liability reform legislation.
Senator Specter was a speaker at NCLC. To view his comments go to:
http://www.acatoday.com/media/what_people_say/ His is the 5th one down.
4. CONSUMER TRAFFIC INCREASES FOR "FIND A DOCTOR" SECTION OF ACA'S WEB SITE
The number of hits on the "Find a Doctor of Chiropractic" section of ACA's Web site continues to grow, as more and more consumers are becoming aware of its availability. During the month of May we had a total of 7,499 hits (242 per day), and in just the first 15 days of July we've already generated a total of 5,742 hits, or 319 per day. This is a tremendous benefit of your ACA membership, as it supplies prospective patients with the names and contact information of the ACA members in their community.
5. CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE CHIROPRACTIC SOUL
Love. Hope. Inspiration. Faith. These are the themes found throughout the pages of the latest addition to the famed Chicken Soup for the Soul series; Chicken Soup for the Chiropractic Soul.
Soon to enter its second printing, the book has introduced tens of thousands of people to the key to living healthier and happier lives.
"The success of Chicken Soup for the Chiropractic Soul is due largely to the chiropractors in the field who have invested in the shared vision by purchasing the book and getting it in the hands of individuals in their respective communities," said Dr. Patrick Bodnar, Director of Parker Products Operations.
Featuring real-life anecdotes from patients and doctors of chiropractic, Chicken Soup for the Chiropractic Soul helps reveal the unbelievable miracles of hope and healing millions of people worldwide have already experienced.
Read how chiropractic has helped world class Olympians, pro baseball players, and everyday 'regular' people regain their health and vitality by unlocking the mystery of the innate healing powers we all possess.
Order you copies now by calling 866-333-SOUP, or visit www.parkerseminars.com.
6. STATE ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE CALL FOCUSED ON LMRPs
Approximately 15 individuals representing nine state associations participated on the monthly conference call in July of the ACA Executive Director's Advisory Committee. The call focused on Local Medical Review Policies that impact the Medicare program. Participating on the call were representatives from Arizona, Louisiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Iowa, Georgia, Arizona, Virginia and Indiana.
Also present for the call were Dr. Ritch Miller, Chairman of ACA's Medicare Committee;
Dr. Daryl Wills, ACA President; Tom Daly, ACA Legal Counsel; Susan McClelland and myself.
Susan McClelland led an hour-long discussion regarding local Medicare carrier policies and how some carriers attempt to circumvent the national policies dictated by CMS. In summary, local policies are to reflect the standards that are established and contained in CMS' Instructions to Carriers. What is happening in some states is that some local carriers are adding words that give a different meaning to the policy. Your local CAC representatives should bring such disparities to the attention of the local carrier. We would be happy to help in such evaluations. Our next conference call is scheduled for September 11 at 1:00 pm Eastern.
7. DID YOU KNOW? HMOs: PREMIUM RATES COULD RISE 18% NEXT YEAR
HMO premiums could increase by as much as 18% in 2004, according to preliminary data released by benefits consultant Hewitt Associates <http://www.hewitt.com>, the Washington Post reports (Brubaker, Washington Post, 6/24). According to data from the Hewitt Health Resource Web site, which tracks HMO premium rate information for 140 large employers, early negotiations with HMOs indicate that premium rates could increase 17.7% in 2004, compared to 21% at the same time last year. Employers have asked employees to pay higher co-payments for health care services and prescription drugs to help control costs (Hewitt Associates release:
http://was.hewitt.com/hewitt/resource/
newsroom/pressrel/2003/06-23-03.htm, 6/23).
The data found that the percentage of employers with a $15 co-pay for physician visits increased from 24% to 43% from 2002 to 2003, and that the percentage with a $15 co-pay for specialist visits increased from 25% to 40%. Many employers also have asked employees to pay higher co-pays for prescription drugs, and more employers have begun to participate in three-tiered prescription drug benefit plans, according to the data. In addition, the data found that 55% of the employers have a $50 co-pay for emergency room visits (Bennett, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 6/23). However, the data found "a slight easing in premium increases from previous years," Reuters/Chicago Tribune reports (Reuters/Chicago Tribune, 6/24). A Hewitt study conducted at this time last year found that HMO costs would likely increase 21%. Ken Sperling, East market leader for the Hewitt Health Management Practice, said, "The [slowing] in HMO [rate increases] reflects the fact that health plans have made an adjustment to make up for conservative pricing last year, hospital costs are slowing, and while drug utilization is still high, greater use of over-the-counter and generic alternatives have impacted drug prices (Hewitt release, 6/23)." PRI's "Marketplace Morning Report" reported on the Hewitt data (Brancaccio, "Marketplace Morning Report," PRI, 6/24). The full segment is available online in RealPlayer at
rtsp://66.40.48.186/advisory/AHL/hewitt062403.rm. If your computer does not play the clip, you may need to obtain the RealOne Player from real.com here:
http://www.real.com/realoneplayer.html?
pp=choice&src=realplayer,072303r1choice_c1_3_2
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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