CHIROPRACTORS
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NEW CHIROPRACTIC VETERANS ADVISORY COMMITTEE HOLDS FIRST MEETING: The congressionally mandated Department of Veterans Affairs Chiropractic Advisory Committee held its first meeting last week, September 23-25th, in Washington, D.C. Ten of the eleven members were present to begin the process of developing recommendations on implementing the law mandating chiropractic services for America's veterans on a permanent basis. The legislation, passed in December of 2001, included very specific language regarding this committee. That language reads as follows:
(g) CHIROPRACTIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE. -
(1) The Secretary shall establish an advisory committee to provide direct assistance and advice to the Secretary in the development and implementation of the chiropractic health program.
(2) The membership of the advisory committee shall include members of the chiropractic care profession and such other members as the Secretary considers appropriate.
(3) Matters on which the advisory committee shall assist and advise the Secretary shall include the following:
(A) Protocols governing referral to chiropractors.
(B) Protocols governing direct access to chiropractic care.
(C) Protocols governing scope of practice of chiropractic practitioners.(D) Definition of services to be provided.
(E) Such other matters the Secretary determines to be appropriate.
Chaired by Dr. Reed B. Phillips and comprised of six doctors of chiropractic and five other representatives, the Advisory Committee aggressively undertook to address the mission assigned to it by the Congress, as outlined in the law. Included in the two and a half days of intensive deliberations were a detailed review of the basic facts and figures regarding the Department of Veterans Affairs and its operations, procedures for deploying doctors of chiropractic within the DVA system, the protocols by which chiropractic care would be accessed by veteran beneficiaries and the privileges by which chiropractic providers would operate within DVA facilities. The meeting ended with extensive assignments being distributed to committee members for extensive research and proposal development, in preparation for the next meeting, which was tentatively scheduled for early December. Dr. Michael McLean, ICA Board Member who serves on the DVA Advisory Committee, reported that the deliberations of the committee were very positive, that great progress was made and that it is clear the interests of the veteran beneficiaries of this massive government agency are uppermost in the minds of all committee members. For more information on this important activity see ICA's website at http://www.chiropractic.org/news/advisory_committee.htm.
HIPAA QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED AT VIRGINIA SOCIETY OF CHIROPRACTIC MEETING OCTOBER 5th and 6th AT THE SHERATON OCEANFRONT IN VIRGINIA BEACH: Dr. Gerard W. Clum will be among the featured speakers at next weekend's Annual Convention of the Virginia Society of Chiropractic (VSC), ICA's affiliate organization in the Old Dominion. Dr. Clum will present a well-researched, comprehensive and detailed program on what HIPAA means to the doctor of chiropractic. HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, and this law will impose new confidentiality and privacy obligations on all health practitioners and facilities, including third-party payment agencies. All providers who file claims electronically will need to either have a compliance plan in place or have filed for an extension by October 16, 2002. ALL ICA MEMBERS IN THE MID-ATLANTIC REGION ARE ENCOURAGED TO BE THERE FOR DR. CLUM'S PRESENTATION ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 6th. For more information on this great program by VSC go to: www.vschiro.org or call the VSC at 540-375-3990. Best wishes to the VSC on a tremendous event next weekend!
MEDICARE QUESTIONS, INCLUDING ADVANCE BENEFICIARY NOTICE (ABN) ISSUES ANSWERED ON MEDICARE WEBSITE: Program managers at the national Medicare headquarters have asked ICA's assistance in notifying chiropractic providers of the availability of new Medicare information on the agency's website. The new Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), formerly known as HCFA, is making a new effort to provide intelligible information to provider and beneficiary alike over the Internet. Forms, program directives and answers to common questions are available on CMS's multi-level site. Called the Medicare Learning Network, the site can be accessed at http://cms.hhs.gov/medicare/. NEW PRACTITIONERS CAN ENROLL AS A MEDICARE PROVIDER DIRECTLY THROUGH THIS SITE. On the ABN issue, for example, the site offers the following information:
Advance Beneficiary
Notices
advise beneficiaries, before items or services actually are furnished, when
Medicare is likely to deny payment for them. ABNs allow beneficiaries to
make informed consumer decisions about receiving items or services for which
they may have to pay out-of-pocket and to be more active participants in
their own health care treatment decisions. Medicare Announces New
Patient Liability Notice
In June 2002, the agency published revised Advance Beneficiary Notices (ABNs),
which may be used in connection with Medicare claims. The new ABNs are part
of CMS's Beneficiary Notices Initiative (BNI). Go to the
BNI Web Page to see ABNs
and other BNI notices. They are designed to be more beneficiary-friendly,
more readable and understandable, with patient options more clearly
defined. The CMS-R-131 form is the new ABN approved by OMB (Office of
Management and Budget) on June 18, 2002. There are two CMS-R-131 forms, the
General Use form ("ABN-G") and the Laboratory Tests form ("ABN-L"). Both
CMS-R-131 ABN forms are standard forms which may not be modified. Both
contain customizable boxes for the individual use requirements of users,
following the guidance in
PM-AB-02-114 (PDF
file 395Kb).
THE EIGHTH FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS HAS PUT ON HOLD TWO PREVIOUS DISTRICT COURT DECISIONS THAT WOULD HAVE ENDED ARKANSAS' IMMUNIZATION EXEMPTION PROVISIONS: On July 25th, the federal District Court for the Western District of Arkansas found the state's religious exemption for immunizations law unconstitutional based on the language of the state statute that acknowledged only "recognized religions", thus denying "equal protection" to all religions. In a similar case, Arkansas Eastern District Federal Judge Susan Webber Wright ruled in mid-August that the Arkansas immunization statute was in violation of the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution because it favored "recognized" religions. Both of these decisions have been put on hold while appeals are pending. Religious exemptions can be given again and the hundreds of children impacted by the earlier decisions are now able to attend public schools without being vaccinated. Concerned parents are forming an organization called the Arkansas Parental Rights Organization to work to insure that similar situations do not develop in the future. Submissions on both sides are due by October 25th and while the final outcome is uncertain, the stay gives hope to those seeking to maintain their individual freedom in this area to obtain a waiver allowing them to refuse the otherwise mandatory vaccinations. For more information on this developing story, watch ICA's website at www.chiropractic.org, The National Vaccine Information Center website at www.909shot.com, or www.vaccinelaw.com.
GREAT NEW OCCUPATIONAL ACCIDENT INSURANCE COVERAGE IS NOW AVAILABLE TO CHIROPRACTIC PRACTITIONERS IN THE UNITED STATES: After months of searching the nationwide insurance markets and hard negotiations with one of the nation's top carriers, ICA is proud to announce the availability of a new occupational accident insurance program that will provide DCs throughout the United States with much needed injury coverage and disability income benefits in the event of any work-related accident. AIG, one of the nation's most respected AAA rated carriers, is offering doctors of chiropractic a new policy that will provide up to $2000 per month in disability income and up to $500,000 in health care expenses. This program, which is exclusively for chiropractors, offers a host of benefits, including:
Accident health care expenses up to $500,000 - Disability income - up to $500 per week -
Accidental death benefit - $50,000 lump sum - Survivor income benefit - $100,000 ($1,000 per week) - Paralysis benefit - $150,000 (lump sum)
No health care professional can afford to be without the kind of safety net this program provides. Tailored for self-employed professionals, this new package is as complete and comprehensive as anything you can find in the insurance marketplace, all for an amazing $62.50 a month. THIS COVERAGE IS AVAILABLE TODAY BY CALLING SELF-FUNDED ALTERNATIVES AT 1-800-535-7086!
DATES TO REMEMBER: Chiropractic Without A Doubt with Dr. Steve Hoffman and Dr. Robert Braile, November 2-3rd, Richmond, Virginia; New Era in Whiplash & Spinal Trauma with Dr. Dan Murphy, November 9-10th, Hartford, Connecticut; Chiropractic Care for Kids with Dr. Peter Fysh, October 26-27th, Dallas, Texas; Annual Conference on Chiropractic Pediatrics, New Orleans, Louisiana, November 22-24th, 2002; Certification in Chiropractic Spinal Trauma (CCST) program kickoff, January 18-19th, 2003, with Dr. Dan Murphy, Las Vegas, Nevada.
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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