"E-FACTS" REPORT FROM THE ICA PRESIDENT, D.D. HUMBER, D.C., FICA

YESTERDAY'S WALL STREET JOURNAL FEATURED A MAJOR ARTICLE ON GROWING CORPORATE INFLUENCE ON PBS.

This long and detailed piece outlines how corporations have all but purchased commercial time on PBS, investing significant effort and money to exploit the maximum commercial impact from "sponsorship" acknowledgements.  Headlining the B section of the July 11^th edition of the world's most widely read financial paper, this article, entitled "PBS and Corporate Underwriters: Too Close for Comfort?",  cites the massive corporate spending, "... $221 million last year, up from $175 million a year earlier" as the primary moving factor behind the commercialization of PBS.  The article quotes a Congressional spokesperson expressing major concerns over this trend:  "We have been increasingly concerned in recent years by TV spots which are in reality nothing more than commercials that are passed off as corporation attributions.  We're not fooled and neither is the public," says Ken Johnson, a spokesman for Rep. Billy Tauzin, who is chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.  It's like being a little bit pregnant. Either you are a public commercial-free station or you're not."

The chiropractic profession has seen a blatant and even more troublesome and offensive side of the "broadcast for hire" attitude that seems to permeate PBS.  Through a grossly distorted and damaging depiction of the science and practice of chiropractic on a regular feature show, Scientific American Frontiers, the power of money is graphically displayed.  This carefully developed negative and demonstrably misleading depiction of chiropractic has been broadcast in an episode entitled "A Different Way to Heal".   ICA finds the negative depiction of non-medical procedures and practices inherently suspect, since the approaches to health supposedly being reviewed stand in direct competition to the company that provided the funding for this segment.  We have a right to expect an organization like PBS act in an objective and responsible manner and not lend itself to exploitation in the kind of marketplace manipulation based on lies. 

ICA urges all doctors of chiropractic, students, patients and any citizen concerned about fairness in the media to review the substance of this broadcast and to contact PBS and demand that the program be immediately withdrawn from broadcast schedules, that an apology be issued and that an opportunity be provided to correct the grotesquely distorted and intentionally damaging picture of chiropractic painted by this show.  Concerned citizens can contact PBS via the Internet at www.PBS.org.  Through that website, citizens can locate their local PBS stations, and obtain specific addresses and contact information.   Contact PBS via e-mail at http://www.pbs.org/aboutsite/feedback.html PBS can be contacted by mail by writing:

Ms. Pat Mitchell, President and Chief Executive Officer

Public Broadcasting Service

1320 Braddock Place, Alexandria, VA 22314

THE NEW YORK CHIROPRACTIC COUNCIL, ICA'S AFFILIATE ASSOCIATION IN THE EMPIRE STATE WILL HOLD ITS ANNUAL CONVENTION AT GROUND ZERO IN NEW YORK CITY NOVEMBER 15-17^th, 2002. 

This great event will include a tribute to the chiropractors from around the nation that volunteered at Ground Zero and a reunion that will include recognition from local dignitaries, the American Red Cross and St. Paul's Chapel.   Speakers will include Dr. C.J. Mertz, Dr. Bob Braile, Dr. Pat Gentempo, Dr. David Jackson, Dr. Jim Sigafoose and Dr. Tedd Koren.  Programs will be available for continuing education credits.  The Council will also be offering a dinner cruise around Manhattan with music and dancing on Friday evening at no additional cost to the first 100 doctors registered for the convention.  ICA encourages doctors from all parts of the nation to support the New York Chiropractic Council in this historic gathering, and, at the same time support the city that suffered the greatest and gave the most in the wake of the September 11^th tragedies.  ICA and chiropractic will be forever grateful to the New York Chiropractic Council, its President Dr. Ellen Coyne and the hundreds of chiropractic volunteers they so expertly and professionally coordinated   in service to the rescue and recovery workers at Ground Zero.  FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO REGISTER, CALL THE NYCC AT 718-386-3988 TODAY!

ICA IS EAGERLY SUPPORTING A TREMENDOUS NEW PROJECT ORGANIZED BY DR. JACALYN BUETTNER TO COLLECT AND PUBLISH IMPORTANT INSPIRATIONAL AND HISTORIC INFORMATION ON WOMEN IN CHIROPRACTIC.  Dr. Buettner, a private practitioner in California and a Palmer Alumna, is working to develop a written record that can serve as a resource base for women now in practice, in chiropractic school or considering a chiropractic career.    The name of this project, "Unstoppable Women in Chiropractic" was chosen to capture the spirit of the thousands of pioneering and service oriented women who have made such great contributions to the chiropractic profession over the years.  "Wouldn't it have been nice, when starting our careers as chiropractors, to have had resources and inspiration from women in the field?" said Dr. Buettner when commenting on why this project is so important.  "Consider becoming a resource and role model for future generations by telling your story in this upcoming book, and make a difference in our profession, in our patients lives and in your community."  ICA strongly urges anyone who is interested in contributing to this important project to contact Dr. Buettner by E-mail:  doctorb@unionsquarechiro.com or Fax:  at (415) 421-2116 or by mail at:

                        Union Square Chiropractic

                        Attn:   Unstoppable Women Project

                        450 Sutter Street

                        San Francisco, CA 94108

LET DR. BUETTNER KNOW BY AUGUST 31^st IF YOU WISH TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS HISTORIC PROJECT AND BE PREPARED TO SUBMIT YOUR FINAL MANUSCRIPT CONTRIBUTION BY NOVEMBER 2002.

FROM MEDICAL NEWSWIRE: CMS, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (formerly HCFA) has released a video presentation that explains how to prepare for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) transactions and code sets standards.  HIPAA is the acronym for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is responsible for implementing various unrelated provisions of HIPAA, therefore HIPAA may mean different things to different people. Here's a directory of CMS's business activities with regard to HIPAA.  The video - also available as a Web cast at http://cms.livewebcasts.com/ - offers a few useful items. One CMS official explains how to apply for a transactions-and-code-sets extension and walks viewers through applying online. The extension form is available online at, http://www.cms.hhs.gov/hipaa/hipaa2/ASCAForm.asp. CMS estimates the form should take 15 minutes to fill out.  To get a year-long extension covered entities must submit forms by Oct. 16, 2002. While you are at that website, also look at the link  "HIPAA Frequently Asked Questions" for more updates on this new privacy requirement for health care practitioners.  Throughout the video, CMS emphasizes that covered entities need to work on HIPAA compliance now. Last minute applications for transactions extensions are especially discouraged. CMS notes that Medicare contractors won't pay paper claims after Oct. 15, 2003 and that noncompliant entities may be excluded from Medicare. If you still have questions about the transactions and code sets portion of HIPAA, you can ask CMS directly by e-mailing AskHIPAA@cms.hhs.gov.  CMS also recommends that providers covered by HIPAA contact their Medicare contractors to learn about local schedules for system testing.

DATES TO REMEMBER:  ICA Pediatric Seminars: Dr. Joan Fallon, Scottsdale, AZ, July 13-14^th;  Dr. Dan Murphy, New Era in Whiplash and Spinal Trauma, Post Falls, ID, June 29-30^th;  ERISA & Insurance Claims Appeals Seminar, Richmond, VA, July 13^th;  Chiropractic Without A Doubt, Pittsburgh, PA, August 3-4^th; Chiropractic Without a Doubt, Philadelphia, PA, August 17-18th; 11^th Annual Conference on Chiropractic Pediatrics, New Orleans, LA, November 22-24, 2002.

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For More Information, Contact the International Chiropractors Association, a Worldwide Community of the Most Successful Chiropractors on Earth at chiro@chiropractic.org or visit the ICA website at www.chiropractic.org.

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