Memorandum
To: ACA Members, House of Delegates, Board of
Governors and Other Interested Parties
From: Garrett Cuneo
Re: ACA EVP Weekly Report
Date: December 15, 2003
This week's report includes the following items:
- CHIROPRACTIC ECONOMICS INTERVIEWS WASHINGTON TIMES REPORTER REGARDING HEALTH CARE LOBBYING SURVEY
- ASSOCIATED PRESS ACKNOWLEDGES ERROR AFTER ACA CHALLENGES ARTICLE
- NEW ACA LIST SERVE TO HELP YOUR PRACTICE THRIVE
- ACA’S FREQUENTLY VISITED WEB SITE
- SECRETARY PRINCIPI CONFIRMS FOR NCLC; COCSA ALSO INVOLVED
- UPDATE ON THE LAWSUITS: NO WHITE SMOKE YET FROM THE COURTS
- SUCCESSFUL OREGON CASE RESEMBLES TRIGON CASE
- ACA PRESENT FOR PRESIDENTIAL SIGNING OF MEDICARE BILL
- NC BLUE CHIP LIAISON REPORTS GREAT VICTORY FOR STATE EMPLOYEES
- CCE SEEKS CHEA RECOGNITION
- NCLAF MONTHLY CONTRIBUTORS ARE INVITED TO JOIN US AT PARKER
- CAN’T ACCESS THESE LINKS?
1. CHIROPRACTIC ECONOMICS INTERVIEWS WASHINGTON
TIMES REPORTER REGARDING HEALTH CARE LOBBYING SURVEY
I reported recently on an op-ed article and an accompanying chart that appeared
recently in the Washington Times--authored by Michael Heaney--that ranked the
top 25 grassroots lobbying organizations at the Capitol that have interest in
health care legislation. ACA made the top 25 list, checking in at number 19. At
number 19, ACA tied the United Auto Workers and beat out the American Physical
Therapy Association (APTA) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Some of the
organizations listed ahead of ACA include the American Hospital Association,
AARP, AFL-CIO. Curiously, the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) wasn't even
listed. Chiropractic Economics contacted Mr. Heaney to learn more about his
study and the methodology that he used in arriving at his conclusions. The
interview appears in the December 2003 issue of Chiropractic Economics, and can
be found at the following link: http://w! ww.chiroeco.com/news/aca_grassroots%20lobbying.html>
Allow me to quote a section of the Chiropractic Economics article that addresses
the sampling process, which I find very revealing:
"Heaney explained that his list of the top 25 grassroots lobbying
organizations was culled from a roll of more than 1,200 associations he
initially compiled that have interests in health care legislation. He used
several criteria, including recommendations by a panel, mention in previous
studies and lobbying efforts, to narrow the list to the top 171 associations. He
said that the
International Chiropractors Association and the World Chiropractic Alliance both
met the criteria to be among the original 1,200 associations, but did not meet
the criteria for the smaller group, from which the top 25 were eventually
ranked, based on in-depth interviews with 77 congressional staff."
I understand that one other chiropractic periodical contact Mr. Heaney as well.
It will be interesting to learn who that is and what they will say about the
interview. We plan to have lunch with Mr. Heaney on Tuesday.
If this interview with Mr. Heaney doesn't make the case that the ACA is the only
show in town, nothing else well. But we could accomplish so much more if we had
more resources. Can you help? Please print out a copy of the Chiropractic
Economics article and a membership application at the link provided below, and
recruit one or more non-members. If the non-member still has doubts, I would be
pleased to talk with him or her. You have my email address. My phone number is
(800) 986-4636. We have a real good product that deserves and needs the support
of the profession. Please help us get there. <http://www.acatoday.com/join.shtml>
2. ASSOCIATED PRESS ACKNOWLEDGES ERROR AFTER ACA CHALLENGES ARTICLE
Because the press is generally reluctant to acknowledge a mistake, we are
pleased to see that the Association Press (AP) has acknowledged that it
committed an error in stating that chiropractors make up 11.3 percent of all
Medicare errors. AP issued a correction to their story after ACA sent the news
service a letter urging that they run a correction to their mistake. According
to the AP correction, "In a Nov. 14 story about error rates in Medicare
claims, The Associated Press reported erroneously that physical therapists
accounted for 18.2 percent of all health care provider billing errors,
internists 11.3 percent and chiropractors 11.3 percent, according to a review by
the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services." The correction goes on to
explain that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ review was merely
evaluating the percentage of claims within each specialty that were in error, as
opposed to the percentage of Medicare errors ov! erall for which each specialty
is responsible.
To read ACA’s letter to the Associated Press, visit: <http://www.acatoday.com/media/record/ap.shtml>
3. NEW ACA LIST SERVE TO HELP YOUR PRACTICE THRIVE
ACA supports the success of your practice and is introducing a new practice
management resource that is targeted for both experienced and new practitioners.
ACABizDoc is a networking forum that includes a practitioner email discussion
group and a Web-based resource dedicated to the business of chiropractic.
ACABizDoc and its sister Web site resource will facilitate conversations among
ACA members looking for practice management information and answers to questions
on insurance, starting a chiropractic office, managed care and more!
Participants will be able to share knowledge on the management of small but
important details related to everyday chiropractic business, and specific
practice management challenges.
Note: you MUST formally register for the ACABizDoc list serve in order to
participate on it. Both the Web site resource and the email discussion group
will launch on January 5, 2004, but you can register now by going to:
<http://ww3.chirolists.com/mailman/listinfo/acabizdoc>
4. ACA’S FREQUENTLY VISITED WEB SITE
Did you know that ACA logs 120,000 visits a month to our Web site, and our
"Find-A-Doctor" section registers between 8,000 to 10,000 hits a
month? How many more reasons do you need to become a member of the ACA? If you
need more, visit: <http://www.acatoday.com/membership/>
5. SECRETARY PRINCIPI CONFIRMS FOR NCLC; COCSA ALSO INVOLVED
Anthony Principi, Secretary of the Veterans Administration has confirmed that he
will speak at ACA’s National Chiropractic Legislative Conference (NCLC),
scheduled for March 3-6, 2004 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Washington, D.C. His
presentation will be particularly timely as he is currently reviewing the
recommendations from the chiropractic advisory committee on implementation of
the chiropractic benefit within the VA program.
Additionally, the Congress of Chiropractic State Associations (COCSA) has agreed
for the second year in a row to sponsor a state association roundtable
discussion. This program provides an opportunity for state association
leadership to discuss with each other and ACA staff various issues that they are
confronting locally. More details to follow.
Do you need more reasons to attend? Other speakers include: the U.S. Labor
Department Attorney responsible for ERISA laws; Mr. George McAndrews, who will
comment upon ACA’s lawsuits; Dr. Allen Korn of National Blue Cross/Blue
Shield, who will participate in the Blue Chip meeting and a chiropractic carrier
advisory committee meeting, along with presentations by prominent members of
congress and the president’s administration, with even more to come.
A downloadable registration form for NCLC will be available on ACA’s Web site
soon. For more information on NCLC 2004, visit: <http://www.acatoday.com/about/nclc2004/>
6. UPDATE ON THE LAWSUITS: NO WHITE SMOKE YET FROM THE COURTS
I have no major developments to report from the courts on either of our two
lawsuits at this time. While we had anticipated that oral arguments might have
been scheduled in the Trigon case by the Appellate Court prior to Christmas, we
have not received such notice. Although there is no requirement that oral
arguments be taken, we do believe this will be scheduled sometime in January. We
will keep you apprised.
7. SUCCESSFUL OREGON CASE RESEMBLES TRIGON CASE
In an Oregon antirust case that resembles a smaller-scale version of our Trigon
case, a jury awarded $4.5 million in damages, which, under law, is tripled to
$16.2 million. The plaintiff will also be eligible to collect attorney fees of
up to $4 million. The case involves a hospital system that used its monopoly
power to negotiate exclusive agreements with Regency Blue Cross Blue Cross of
Oregon to establish pricing schemes that charged patients more for services
received from the plaintiff hospital than those charged to the defendant
hospital system. A hearing has been set on the motion of the defendant to have
the court set aside the jury verdict.
8. ACA PRESENT FOR PRESIDENTIAL SIGNING OF MEDICARE BILL
As you probably read in the paper or saw on television, President Bush signed
last Monday the Medicare Drug Reform Bill. I was joined at the signing by ACA
vice president of government relations Jon Hymes and PAC manager Kim Krocker in
viewing the impressive ceremony. Most of the major players in Congress and the
lobbying community were present. Tommy Thompson introduced President Bush, who
gave a pretty good speech. The signing took place at the DAR Constitution Hall
instead of the White House in order to accommodate the obvious interest in the
ceremony. The gallery and main floor were packed. We had fairly good
seats--about 15 rows from the president. It was an impressive and moving
ceremony, particularly when you know that our provision was included in the
bill.
9. NC BLUE CHIP LIAISON REPORTS GREAT VICTORY FOR STATE EMPLOYEES
ACA Blue Chip liaison Dr. Kevin sharp recently reported a change in the State
Employee Medical Plan, which covers teachers and state employees in North
Carolina and is administered by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC).
An ACA member contacted ACA in April of this year stating that the state
employee coverage would only pay for one Evaluation and Management (E/M) Code in
a patient's lifetime. When ACA took this problem to Dr. Sharp, he was able to
contact the State Employee Medical Director through his meetings with BCBSNC as
the liaison. He was then able to educate her about the necessity of having more
than one E/M code covered for doctors of chiropractic. Thanks to Dr. Sharp's
efforts, an ACA member bringing this problem to our attention, and the
open-mindedness of the State Employee medical director in North Carolina,
doctors of chiropractic can now bill and be reimbursed for at least one (1) E/M
code per month under the state employee ! plan.
10. CCE SEEKS CHEA RECOGNITION
Two weeks ago I attended a public hearing in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the
Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). The council is a private
accrediting agency that extends recognition status to the accrediting agencies
of the major professions in the country that meet CHEA standards. On the agenda
this day were applications from the following accrediting agencies: American
Council of Pharmaceutical Education; National Association of Schools of
Public Affairs and Administration Commission on Peer Review and Accreditation;
the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant;
and the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE).
The CCE was represented at the hearing by Dr. Laura Weeks, chair of the CCE
Commission on Accreditation and vice president for academic affairs at Sherman
College; Dr. Craig Little, president of the CCE and Martha O’Conner, PhD,
executive vice president of the CCE. All three did an excellent job in
responding to questions about the extensive self-study application submitted by
the CCE. It's a pretty extensive process and the CCE will not know for a while
whether they received the status or need to make further changes. I would guess
that more work will need to be done, but the good news is they are now in the
pipeline.
CHEA is a very prestigious private agency that is well respected in higher
education. The 12-member committee that reviewed CCE’s application included
the editor of Gannet News services; president of Oakton Community College; the
provost and vice president for academic affairs at SUNY-Binghamton; and the vice
president of academic affairs at Alcorn State University.
11. NCLAF MONTHLY CONTRIBUTORS ARE INVITED TO JOIN US AT PARKER
If you are a monthly contributor to National Chiropractic Legal Action Fund (NCLAF),
we invite you to join ACA’s board of governors and others attending the Parker
program in Las Vegas, where we will enjoy an outstanding program and raise money
for the lawsuits. We are preparing a special recognition ribbon for you and ask
that you come to the NCLAF booths at the program and get your recognition. We
are also hopeful that during the major programs that will occur on Thursday
evening and Saturday, you will again be recognized for your efforts. For more on
the Parker program, visit: <http://www.parkerseminars.com/seminar/seminardetail.asp?locationid=29>
12.
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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