Guest guest Posted November 5, 2002 Report Share Posted November 5, 2002 ACA EVP Weekly Report ACA Members, Board of Governors, House of Delegates and Other Interested Parties From: Cuneo Re: ACA EVP Weekly Report Date: November 4, 2002 The following items are included in this week's report: 1. COMMENT ON ELECTIONS 2. UPDATE ON THE TRIGON LAWSUIT 3. ACA TACKLES THE TOUGH NEW JERSEY INSURANCE MARKET 4. NATIONAL BOARD COMES THROUGH AGAIN 5. CANADIAN INQUEST UPDATE 6. ACA CHAIRMAN ATTENDS AND PARTICIPATES IN SAO PAULO CONFERENCE 7. NATIONAL MEDIA CONTINUES TO RELY ON ACA 8. ACA LEGAL COUNSEL HELPS VERMONT ON MEDICAID ISSUE 9. ACA PRESIDENT ON THE ROAD 10. ACA'S CPT 2003 - THE MOST AUTHORITATIVE BOOK ON THE SUBJECT IN THE PROFESSION - IS COMING 11. CAN'T ACCESS THE LINKS? 1. COMMENT ON ELECTIONS: WE ARE IN THE THICK OF IT I was listening the other day to Cook, a prominent political pollster and consultant. He was analyzing the various races for governor, the House of Representatives and the Senate. He concluded that, while the democrats will probably get the majority of governorships, it would be extremely difficult but not impossible for the democrats to gain control of the House of Representatives. Cook pointed out that the democrats would have to capture at least eight out of about 10 races that are currently considered too close to call. Another pollster indicated that there are 14 such seats that are too close to call, and that the democrats would have to carry all of them to succeed. Again, not impossible - but difficult. The Senate side is another story. The pollster could argue a couple of scenarios in which republicans would gain control, and a couple of scenarios in which the democrats would gain control. He indicated that in the last two weeks, the number of really competitive races in the Senate grew from five to ten - an incredible number. In his 15-plus years in this business, he hasn't seen things so tight and so unpredictable. If we as a profession were going to send a message, this would be the right election in which to do it. We are heavily involved in some of the closest races including in two instances conducting an independent expenditure campaign including radio ad spots. We are working very aggressively on this. Some of you may question our decisions for partisan-based reasons. I would respond to those concerns by saying that this profession does not have the luxury of allowing its personal political views to dominate its decisions. We need to support those candidates who support chiropractic, regardless of their party affiliation. Heck, if this former San Francisco Goldwater campaign worker can sign a PAC contribution check to a democrat without my hand shaking, then each of us can do the same. And we aren't alone. You can be sure that the medical community is taking the same approach. In fact, they have spent $120,000 this past week alone on behalf of Congressman Greg Ganske of Iowa. Tuesday evening will undoubtedly be an interesting election night. However, because the election is tight in so many races, the eventual outcome of the races and who controls the House and Senate probably won't be decided until the next day, if then. 2. UPDATE ON THE TRIGON LAWSUIT There is nothing new to report on the lawsuit against Trigon. The judge has yet to rule on the motion for summary judgment. We'll keep you posted on any developments. 3. ACA TACKLES THE TOUGH NEW JERSEY INSURANCE MARKET Dr. Stiso, ACA's delegate to New Jersey, working in concert with the state chiropractic associations, the Forum and the ACA, has done what no one else has been able to do before in New Jersey. While there has been a lot of discussion about Aetna's $200 cap in New Jersey and the efforts by various associations and individual doctors, Dr. Stiso captured the attention of Aetna officials and pushed through a major victory. As of January 2003, Aetna will return to a fee-for-service program for doctors of chiropractic. While direct access remains an obstacle, ACA officials and Dr. Stiso will continue to push for change in this area well. 4. NATIONAL BOARD COMES THROUGH AGAIN We received an email message on Friday from Dr. Ferguson, President of The National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE), indicating that his board of directors had just agreed to contribute an additional $75,000 to the National Chiropractic Legal Action Fund (NCLAF). Dr. Ferguson indicated that, "The entire Board believes that the Trigon suit will benefit the entire profession by providing opportunities for current and future practitioners and the delivery of chiropractic to the patient public." This brings the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners' total NCLAF contributions to $200,000. We certainly appreciate the efforts of the NBCE. No other issue since the Wilk suit has galvanized this profession as our lawsuits have. We need the profession's continued support. 5. CANADIAN INQUEST UPDATE Two more expert witnesses have testified during the Canadian inquest that chiropractic cervical manipulation could not possibly have caused the fatal stroke of 45-year-old Lana Dale in 1996. On October 21, Dr. Carey, president of the Canadian Chiropractic Protective Association, testified that the woman's left neck artery could not have been damaged by treatment performed on the opposite side of her neck. Dr. Philip Emanuele, ' doctor of chiropractic, treated only her right upper neck, according to his testimony and treatment records. When asked by the lawyer for the Canadian Chiropractic Association if this would be "the first case in the world where a right-sided neck adjustment produced a left vertebral artery injury," Dr. Carey replied, "Yes it would." And on October 30, Dr. Dominic Rosso, a neuroradiologist, told the coroner's jury that hardening of the arteries - and not chiropractic neck manipulation - caused ' death. "This lady had, unfortunately, severe and quite unusual hardening of the arteries in the back of the brain," Dr. Rosso testified, according to an article in The Toronto Star. According to Dr. Rosso, negatives of an angiogram showed that ' right vertebral artery was 70 percent narrowed inside the skull, and her left vertebral artery was totally blocked. There was also no evidence that the left vertebral artery had been split - which would have been the case if a neck adjustment had caused an injury. For weekly updates on the inquest, visit the Canadian Chiropractic Association's Web site at www.ccachiro.org <http://www.ccachiro.org>. Click on "Media," then " Inquest Weekly Summaries." You can also follow media coverage of the inquest on the Toronto Star's Web site at www.thestar.com <http://www.thestar.com>. 6. ACA CHAIRMAN ATTENDS AND PARTICIPATES IN SAO PAULO CONFERENCEDr Jim , ACA Chairman of the Board, traveled to Sao Pablo, Brazil to participate in an educational symposium on chiropractic education sponsored by the Association of Chiropractic Colleges, the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners and the World Federation of Chiropractic from October 26-29. Dr made a presentation relative to the educational training of the modern chiropractor and then participated in a panel discussion on that subject. He also toured the new chiropractic college in Sao o. Approximately 75 national leaders from around the world attended the event, including numerous college presidents from the United States. 7. NATIONAL MEDIA CONTINUES TO RELY ON ACA ACA continues to be called upon by the media nationwide to represent the chiropractic profession on a variety of topics. Just a few of the media outlets that have interviewed ACA staff and spokespersons over the past month are listed below. The Wall Street Journal interviewed Dr. Bautch, past president of ACA's Council on Occupational Health, on repetitive motion injuries caused by new technologies such as text pagers. The American Medical News interviewed ACA spokesperson Dr. Jerome Mcs on the subject of the VA Committee appointments. ePregnancy magazine interviewed Dr. Mcs on the subject of pregnancy and back problems. The National Underwriter interviewed Pat , ACA's Vice President of PDR, on ACA's anti-fraud efforts. New York Magazine interviewed Dr. Mcs on the chiropractic profession's struggles with the AMA and traditional medicine. And both Allure magazine and First for Women magazine interviewed Dr. Mcs regarding the problems women's fashions can cause for the musculoskeletal system. 8. ACA LEGAL COUNSEL HELPS VERMONT ON MEDICAID ISSUE Tom Daly, ACA Legal Counsel, reported the following to me: "I received a call from Otis, the Vermont Chiropractic Association's attorney and lobbyist. He explained that they were having problems with payment for chiropractic services under Medicaid in Vermont. In discussing the issue, he indicated that while the osteopaths may use the OMT Codes for spinal manipulation, the code used by chiropractors was not the CMT code series but rather a bundled code. I pointed out that the statutory and regulatory definitions for chiropractic manipulation under Medicaid were almost exactly the same as those under Medicare, and that the CMT Codes are used under Medicare's RBRVS to describe this manipulation service. I therefore pointed out the unequal treatment being applied to chiropractic service under the Vermont Medicaid policy by its selective refusal to recognize and pay for CMT Codes as an unbundled service with its higher relative value, while at the same time paying osteopaths and other provider consistent with CPT and RBRVS. He said that this was very helpful and would include this point in his testimony. He also said that they were considering litigating the issue." This type of Trigon-like special treatment for services provided by chiropractors is a recurring problem - and another reason our litigation is so important. 9. ACA PRESIDENT ON THE ROAD ACA President Dr. Daryl Wills continues to maintain a tough travel schedule promoting the ACA and our legal action fund. Last week, Dr. Wills visited the New York Chiropractic College (NYCC), then traveled to Georgia where he spoke to the Georgia Chiropractic Association (GCA). Dr. Wills spent a day at NYCC, first being given a tour of the campus by NYCC President Dr. Nicchi, and then addressing 75 students, to whom he offered his comments about our legal action and about our recent successes regarding student loans. The NYCC SACA chapter made a contribution to the National Chiropractic Legal Action Fund. Dr. Wills then traveled to Georgia, where he spoke to 600 doctors in attendance at the GCA convention. He was given six opportunities to speak, and was shown tremendous support from Dr. Dull, ACA's delegate to Georgia, and Dr. Hayden, ACA's alternate delegate to Georgia. During Dr. Wills' presentation on ACA's legal action, he succeeded in getting 26 doctors to pledge $100 per month - the majority of whom pledged this amount for a period of five years. This projects to a 5-year total of $148,500. Dr. Wills then traveled to Life University, where he was given a tour of the campus by interim president Dr. Schmidt. 10. ACA'S CPT 2003 - THE MOST AUTHORITATIVE BOOK ON THE SUBJECT IN THE PROFESSION - IS COMING I am pleased to announce that ACA's 2003 Chiropractic Coding Solutions Manual--our authoritative resource on CPT codes and their applications that allow doctors of chiropractic to efficiently and accurately process insurance claims--will be available in December. ACA's 2003 Chiropractic Coding Solutions Manual's high level of detail further enhances the understanding of current and new codes, assuring correct usage by individual offices as they seek fair reimbursement. The 2003 edition is the only chiropractic-specific resource developed by doctors of chiropractic for doctors of chiropractic,including the chiropractic representatives who serve on the AMA CPT Committees. Our 2003 CPT manual includes an expanded section on consultation codes, a new section on laboratory services, an expanded, easy-to-use ICD-9 coding section, nutritional counseling codes, updated insert on HIPAA, updated Medicare section and an updated federal workers' compensation section. And, to further enhance ease-of-use, a FREE searchable CD-ROM accompanies each order for the 2003 publication. ACA Member Price: $49.95, plus S & H fees; Non-member Price: $79.95 plus S & H fees. Order Item CPT03. To reserve your copies, call 800-368-3083. 11. 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 <http://www.adobe.com/>. If you need further assistance viewing anything referred to in this report, please e-mail me at gcuneo@... <mailto:gcuneo@...>. ************************ This message is being sent to you as a courtesy by the executive vice president of the American Chiropractic Association. If you wish to be removed from this list, simply send a message to kpark@... <mailto:kpark@...> with a subject of: "REMOVE - EVP Report." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 5, 2002 Report Share Posted November 5, 2002 ACA EVP Weekly Report ACA Members, Board of Governors, House of Delegates and Other Interested Parties From: Cuneo Re: ACA EVP Weekly Report Date: November 4, 2002 The following items are included in this week's report: 1. COMMENT ON ELECTIONS 2. UPDATE ON THE TRIGON LAWSUIT 3. ACA TACKLES THE TOUGH NEW JERSEY INSURANCE MARKET 4. NATIONAL BOARD COMES THROUGH AGAIN 5. CANADIAN INQUEST UPDATE 6. ACA CHAIRMAN ATTENDS AND PARTICIPATES IN SAO PAULO CONFERENCE 7. NATIONAL MEDIA CONTINUES TO RELY ON ACA 8. ACA LEGAL COUNSEL HELPS VERMONT ON MEDICAID ISSUE 9. ACA PRESIDENT ON THE ROAD 10. ACA'S CPT 2003 - THE MOST AUTHORITATIVE BOOK ON THE SUBJECT IN THE PROFESSION - IS COMING 11. CAN'T ACCESS THE LINKS? 1. COMMENT ON ELECTIONS: WE ARE IN THE THICK OF IT I was listening the other day to Cook, a prominent political pollster and consultant. He was analyzing the various races for governor, the House of Representatives and the Senate. He concluded that, while the democrats will probably get the majority of governorships, it would be extremely difficult but not impossible for the democrats to gain control of the House of Representatives. Cook pointed out that the democrats would have to capture at least eight out of about 10 races that are currently considered too close to call. Another pollster indicated that there are 14 such seats that are too close to call, and that the democrats would have to carry all of them to succeed. Again, not impossible - but difficult. The Senate side is another story. The pollster could argue a couple of scenarios in which republicans would gain control, and a couple of scenarios in which the democrats would gain control. He indicated that in the last two weeks, the number of really competitive races in the Senate grew from five to ten - an incredible number. In his 15-plus years in this business, he hasn't seen things so tight and so unpredictable. If we as a profession were going to send a message, this would be the right election in which to do it. We are heavily involved in some of the closest races including in two instances conducting an independent expenditure campaign including radio ad spots. We are working very aggressively on this. Some of you may question our decisions for partisan-based reasons. I would respond to those concerns by saying that this profession does not have the luxury of allowing its personal political views to dominate its decisions. We need to support those candidates who support chiropractic, regardless of their party affiliation. Heck, if this former San Francisco Goldwater campaign worker can sign a PAC contribution check to a democrat without my hand shaking, then each of us can do the same. And we aren't alone. You can be sure that the medical community is taking the same approach. In fact, they have spent $120,000 this past week alone on behalf of Congressman Greg Ganske of Iowa. Tuesday evening will undoubtedly be an interesting election night. However, because the election is tight in so many races, the eventual outcome of the races and who controls the House and Senate probably won't be decided until the next day, if then. 2. UPDATE ON THE TRIGON LAWSUIT There is nothing new to report on the lawsuit against Trigon. The judge has yet to rule on the motion for summary judgment. We'll keep you posted on any developments. 3. ACA TACKLES THE TOUGH NEW JERSEY INSURANCE MARKET Dr. Stiso, ACA's delegate to New Jersey, working in concert with the state chiropractic associations, the Forum and the ACA, has done what no one else has been able to do before in New Jersey. While there has been a lot of discussion about Aetna's $200 cap in New Jersey and the efforts by various associations and individual doctors, Dr. Stiso captured the attention of Aetna officials and pushed through a major victory. As of January 2003, Aetna will return to a fee-for-service program for doctors of chiropractic. While direct access remains an obstacle, ACA officials and Dr. Stiso will continue to push for change in this area well. 4. NATIONAL BOARD COMES THROUGH AGAIN We received an email message on Friday from Dr. Ferguson, President of The National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE), indicating that his board of directors had just agreed to contribute an additional $75,000 to the National Chiropractic Legal Action Fund (NCLAF). Dr. Ferguson indicated that, "The entire Board believes that the Trigon suit will benefit the entire profession by providing opportunities for current and future practitioners and the delivery of chiropractic to the patient public." This brings the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners' total NCLAF contributions to $200,000. We certainly appreciate the efforts of the NBCE. No other issue since the Wilk suit has galvanized this profession as our lawsuits have. We need the profession's continued support. 5. CANADIAN INQUEST UPDATE Two more expert witnesses have testified during the Canadian inquest that chiropractic cervical manipulation could not possibly have caused the fatal stroke of 45-year-old Lana Dale in 1996. On October 21, Dr. Carey, president of the Canadian Chiropractic Protective Association, testified that the woman's left neck artery could not have been damaged by treatment performed on the opposite side of her neck. Dr. Philip Emanuele, ' doctor of chiropractic, treated only her right upper neck, according to his testimony and treatment records. When asked by the lawyer for the Canadian Chiropractic Association if this would be "the first case in the world where a right-sided neck adjustment produced a left vertebral artery injury," Dr. Carey replied, "Yes it would." And on October 30, Dr. Dominic Rosso, a neuroradiologist, told the coroner's jury that hardening of the arteries - and not chiropractic neck manipulation - caused ' death. "This lady had, unfortunately, severe and quite unusual hardening of the arteries in the back of the brain," Dr. Rosso testified, according to an article in The Toronto Star. According to Dr. Rosso, negatives of an angiogram showed that ' right vertebral artery was 70 percent narrowed inside the skull, and her left vertebral artery was totally blocked. There was also no evidence that the left vertebral artery had been split - which would have been the case if a neck adjustment had caused an injury. For weekly updates on the inquest, visit the Canadian Chiropractic Association's Web site at www.ccachiro.org <http://www.ccachiro.org>. Click on "Media," then " Inquest Weekly Summaries." You can also follow media coverage of the inquest on the Toronto Star's Web site at www.thestar.com <http://www.thestar.com>. 6. ACA CHAIRMAN ATTENDS AND PARTICIPATES IN SAO PAULO CONFERENCEDr Jim , ACA Chairman of the Board, traveled to Sao Pablo, Brazil to participate in an educational symposium on chiropractic education sponsored by the Association of Chiropractic Colleges, the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners and the World Federation of Chiropractic from October 26-29. Dr made a presentation relative to the educational training of the modern chiropractor and then participated in a panel discussion on that subject. He also toured the new chiropractic college in Sao o. Approximately 75 national leaders from around the world attended the event, including numerous college presidents from the United States. 7. NATIONAL MEDIA CONTINUES TO RELY ON ACA ACA continues to be called upon by the media nationwide to represent the chiropractic profession on a variety of topics. Just a few of the media outlets that have interviewed ACA staff and spokespersons over the past month are listed below. The Wall Street Journal interviewed Dr. Bautch, past president of ACA's Council on Occupational Health, on repetitive motion injuries caused by new technologies such as text pagers. The American Medical News interviewed ACA spokesperson Dr. Jerome Mcs on the subject of the VA Committee appointments. ePregnancy magazine interviewed Dr. Mcs on the subject of pregnancy and back problems. The National Underwriter interviewed Pat , ACA's Vice President of PDR, on ACA's anti-fraud efforts. New York Magazine interviewed Dr. Mcs on the chiropractic profession's struggles with the AMA and traditional medicine. And both Allure magazine and First for Women magazine interviewed Dr. Mcs regarding the problems women's fashions can cause for the musculoskeletal system. 8. ACA LEGAL COUNSEL HELPS VERMONT ON MEDICAID ISSUE Tom Daly, ACA Legal Counsel, reported the following to me: "I received a call from Otis, the Vermont Chiropractic Association's attorney and lobbyist. He explained that they were having problems with payment for chiropractic services under Medicaid in Vermont. In discussing the issue, he indicated that while the osteopaths may use the OMT Codes for spinal manipulation, the code used by chiropractors was not the CMT code series but rather a bundled code. I pointed out that the statutory and regulatory definitions for chiropractic manipulation under Medicaid were almost exactly the same as those under Medicare, and that the CMT Codes are used under Medicare's RBRVS to describe this manipulation service. I therefore pointed out the unequal treatment being applied to chiropractic service under the Vermont Medicaid policy by its selective refusal to recognize and pay for CMT Codes as an unbundled service with its higher relative value, while at the same time paying osteopaths and other provider consistent with CPT and RBRVS. He said that this was very helpful and would include this point in his testimony. He also said that they were considering litigating the issue." This type of Trigon-like special treatment for services provided by chiropractors is a recurring problem - and another reason our litigation is so important. 9. ACA PRESIDENT ON THE ROAD ACA President Dr. Daryl Wills continues to maintain a tough travel schedule promoting the ACA and our legal action fund. Last week, Dr. Wills visited the New York Chiropractic College (NYCC), then traveled to Georgia where he spoke to the Georgia Chiropractic Association (GCA). Dr. Wills spent a day at NYCC, first being given a tour of the campus by NYCC President Dr. Nicchi, and then addressing 75 students, to whom he offered his comments about our legal action and about our recent successes regarding student loans. The NYCC SACA chapter made a contribution to the National Chiropractic Legal Action Fund. Dr. Wills then traveled to Georgia, where he spoke to 600 doctors in attendance at the GCA convention. He was given six opportunities to speak, and was shown tremendous support from Dr. Dull, ACA's delegate to Georgia, and Dr. Hayden, ACA's alternate delegate to Georgia. During Dr. Wills' presentation on ACA's legal action, he succeeded in getting 26 doctors to pledge $100 per month - the majority of whom pledged this amount for a period of five years. This projects to a 5-year total of $148,500. Dr. Wills then traveled to Life University, where he was given a tour of the campus by interim president Dr. Schmidt. 10. ACA'S CPT 2003 - THE MOST AUTHORITATIVE BOOK ON THE SUBJECT IN THE PROFESSION - IS COMING I am pleased to announce that ACA's 2003 Chiropractic Coding Solutions Manual--our authoritative resource on CPT codes and their applications that allow doctors of chiropractic to efficiently and accurately process insurance claims--will be available in December. ACA's 2003 Chiropractic Coding Solutions Manual's high level of detail further enhances the understanding of current and new codes, assuring correct usage by individual offices as they seek fair reimbursement. The 2003 edition is the only chiropractic-specific resource developed by doctors of chiropractic for doctors of chiropractic,including the chiropractic representatives who serve on the AMA CPT Committees. Our 2003 CPT manual includes an expanded section on consultation codes, a new section on laboratory services, an expanded, easy-to-use ICD-9 coding section, nutritional counseling codes, updated insert on HIPAA, updated Medicare section and an updated federal workers' compensation section. And, to further enhance ease-of-use, a FREE searchable CD-ROM accompanies each order for the 2003 publication. ACA Member Price: $49.95, plus S & H fees; Non-member Price: $79.95 plus S & H fees. Order Item CPT03. To reserve your copies, call 800-368-3083. 11. 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 <http://www.adobe.com/>. If you need further assistance viewing anything referred to in this report, please e-mail me at gcuneo@... <mailto:gcuneo@...>. ************************ This message is being sent to you as a courtesy by the executive vice president of the American Chiropractic Association. If you wish to be removed from this list, simply send a message to kpark@... <mailto:kpark@...> with a subject of: "REMOVE - EVP Report." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 26, 2002 Report Share Posted November 26, 2002 ACA EVP Weekly Report MEMORANDUM ACA Members, Board of Governors, House of Delegates and Other Interested Parties From: Cuneo Re: ACA EVP Weekly Report Date: 11/25/02 "The ACA seeks a transformation in health care from a focus on disease to a focus on wellness." The following items are included in this week's report: 1. WAL-MART AGREES TO MEET WITH THE ACA 2. WALL STREET JOURNAL: ANOTHER HATCHET JOB 3. NEW YORK MAGAZINE PRAISES CHIROPRACTIC: A DIFFERENT VIEW OF THE PROFESSION 4. SENATOR TIM JOHNSON'S OPPONENT CONCEDES (AND OTHER CLOSE RACES): THE LESSON TO BE LEARNED 5. VA ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING TO BE HELD IN DECEMBER 6. ACA LEADERSHIP IN OHIO 7. SHARE THIS REPORT WITH OTHERS 8. MASTERS CIRCLE: UNITY IN THE AIR 9. MAINE STATE ASSOCIATION STEPS UP ITS SUPPORT 10. OTHER ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT 11. COCSA MEETING WAS A SUCCESS 12. CAN'T ACCESS THESE LINKS? 1. WAL-MART AGREES TO MEET WITH THE ACA The leadership of Wal-Mart has agreed to meet with the ACA to discuss their decision to terminate chiropractic coverage for their employees effective Jan, 2003. The meeting will be held at their corporate offices in Bentonville, Arkansas. Wal-Mart is the largest retail outlet in the world, with over 4,000 stores, generating $232 billion in sales annually. Their health benefits fall under ERISA provisions and are exempt from insurance equality laws. Efforts in the past to meet with them fell on deaf ears. Due to the importance of this issue, the ACA Executive Committee will be attending the meeting along with Pat , Vice President of Professional Development and Research. We will be prepared to argue effectively that from a business, health and employee morale standpoint, their decision was very shortsighted. 2. WALL STREET JOURNAL: ANOTHER HATCHET JOB The Tuesday, November 19th issue of the Wall Street Journal contained an article by J. that trashed the chiropractic profession. This is not the first time the Wall Street Journal has done so. The article started with a passing comment about the success of chiropractic, but then went into the tired old comments about our lack of competence and the dangers of treatment. It closed by stating that if you want a referral to a chiropractor you should seek someone who is a member of the National Association of Chiropractic Medicine (NACM). Since this group doesn't publish its membership list, I would suspect that this would be difficult to do. Naturally, we have prepared a response. You can view it here: <http://www.acatoday.com/media/record/wsj_4.shtml> Often times you can account for a reporter's bias simply by his or her ignorance of chiropractic. But not this time. This reporter did contact ACA's national spokesperson, Dr. Jerome Mcs, to obtain his input. But if you read the article, you wouldn't know that Dr. Mcs was interviewed at all. This is an example of a reporter who had made up his mind about the story before he even wrote it. We can always do a better job in public relations. I think we do a good job with the resources we have, but obviously we could do more if we had more funds. Hopefully, in the not too distant future when we have the lawsuits behind us, we can start focusing more resources in this area. However, even if we had all the resources in the world, we would still face reporters who investigate stories with a preconceived notion of what they will find. I'd say the Wall Street Journal story is a perfect example. 3. NEW YORK MAGAZINE PRAISES CHIROPRACTIC: A DIFFERENT VIEW OF THE PROFESSION The same week that Dr. Mcs was interviewed for the Wall Street Journal article, he was also interviewed by a reporter for New York Magazine, a popular lifestyle magazine in the New York City area with a circulation of more than 430,000. This magazine offered a completely different perspective from the Wall Street Journal article. The November 18 New York Magazine story contained an article titled "Take That Back," featuring ACA members Seckendorf, DC, and kson, DC. It also quoted ACA spokesperson Dr. Jerome Mcs, sa well as two other doctors of chiropractic in the New York area. "Who's treating the chronic aches and pains of some of Manhattan's most demanding patients?" the article begins. "A whole new class of chiropractors like Seckendorf, whose high-tech offices and great hands are raising the status of an oft-maligned spinal specialty (even if some orthopedists still get a little bent out of shape on the subject)." It talked about the extensive list of patients including and Henry Kissinger, Ailes and Ober-investment banker Pete . Click here for a link to the full story: <http://www.newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/health/features/n_7991/index.html> 4. SENATOR TIM JOHNSON'S OPPONENT CONCEDES (AND OTHER CLOSE RACES): THE LESSON TO BE LEARNED Republican Rep. Thune announced recently that he would not seek a recount in the senatorial race that pitted him against Sen. Tim (D-SD). Thune lost by only 524 out of 335,000 total votes. By law, Thune was entitled to a recount because the margin was so narrow, but he decided against doing so. A total of 524 votes decided the election. As I reported last week, the ACA contributed the maximum amount of money to Tim 's campaign, sent out letters to our members urging support and purchased over 2,000 30-second radio ad spots. We were also on the winning side in other tight senate races, including Jim Talent vs. Carnahan in Missouri where Jim Talent won by a margin of 1%, and the Norm vs. Walter Mondale race in Minnesota where won by a margin of only 2%. I mention this not just because it makes us look good, but also to illustrate how a small organization can make a big difference in tight races. Yes, I think we can take some of the credit for the outcomes of these races. 5. VA ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING TO BE HELD IN DECEMBER The Federal Register included a notice regarding the upcoming meeting of the Chiropractic Advisory Committee scheduled for December 4th and 5th in Washington, D.C. The agenda for the committee includes presentations by various chiropractic members of the committee on a wide variety of subjects, including the clinical practice settings, the ACC Paradigm, scope of practice and competency evaluation and research. Also on the agenda is a separate discussion on scope of chiropractic practice. It is suspected that the outcome of this discussion will go a long way in determining the effectiveness of the committee. 6. ACA LEADERSHIP IN OHIO ACA president Daryl D. Wills and his wife Bobbi attended the 33rd annual convention of the Ohio State Chiropractic Association (OSCA), November 15-16 in Columbus, Ohio. Some 200 doctors and chiropractic assistants attended the meeting. Joined by ACA alternate delegate Dr. Rob Sheely and Dr. Jim , Dr. Wills was given numerous opportunities to speak about ACA issues, including the National Chiropractic Legal Action Fund (NCLAF). He addressed the attendees of the PAC reception on Friday night, and then again the next day at the awards luncheon where he was presented with a check from OSCA for $6,940 for the NCLAF and numerous pledge sheets. Ohio doctors have been some of the strongest supporters of the NCLAF. This contribution by the OSCA brings its total contribution to $46,300. If you include the contributions by Ohio's district societies, the total contribution is $90,000. 7. SHARE THIS REPORT WITH OTHERS If you feel this report has value and you would like it to be sent to some non-members as a way to show them what we are trying to accomplish, please let me know by providing their email addresses. 8. MASTERS CIRCLE: UNITY IN THE AIR There was strong support for unity and for the chiropractic lawsuits at the Masters Circle program in Orlando, Florida, November 15 and 16. The program was attended by 1,200 doctors. Dr. Larry Markson, one of the principles in the Masters Circle, made a strong pitch not only for a unified profession, but also for support of ACA's lawsuits. ACA chairman , DC, followed Dr. Markson and was given an opportunity to update the audience on the progress of the lawsuits and to discuss other achievements of the ACA as well. Both Drs. and Markson received strong support and applause for their comments, and the presentation resulted in contributions to the legal action fund. Dr. Markson and his Masters Circle partners have been one of the first and most active practice management consultants to come out in favor of the lawsuits. Earlier in the year his company contributed $5,000 to the legal action fund and sent out a letter to his clients urging their support as well. Recently he sent another notice supporting the suit against Trigon. And at the Orlando program he signed a pledge to contribute $500 a month for the duration of the lawsuits. I will say it again, no single event since the Wilk case has done more to unify this profession than our lawsuits. 9. MAINE STATE ASSOCIATION STEPS UP ITS SUPPORT The Maine Chiropractic Association showed its support for the lawsuits by offering a matching challenge to their members. They offered to match contributions up to $5,000. Their members responded with contributions of $6,100, and ACA received an envelope containing $11,100 for the legal action fund. All of this from a state that only has 190 licensed doctors of chiropractic. 10. OTHER ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT Last week we also received contributions to the legal action fund from the following sources: · Florida Chiropractic Association: $1,250, bringing its total to $20,000 · Georgia Chiropractic Association District 1: $500, bringing its total to $1,500 · Georgia Chiropractic Association District 6: $300 (first contribution) · Georgia Chiropractic Association District 2: $250 (first contribution) · Central Jersey Chiropractic Society: $500 (first contribution) · Missouri State Chiropractic Society, Southeast District 4: $1,000 (first contribution) 11. COCSA MEETING WAS A SUCCESS Two weeks ago, ACA president Daryl D. Wills, DC, Pat and I traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina, to attend the annual meeting of the Congress of Chiropractic State Associations (COCSA). This meeting attracted over 120 practitioners and executive directors representing the leadership of state associations with both ACA and ICA affiliations. COCSA demonstrated that this profession can work together. The program itself was good, and the spirit of cooperation between state associations was outstanding. COCSA gave us many opportunities to discuss our activities. And on Friday, Pat presented a well-received program on insurance relations. On Friday night, Dr. Wills and I participated in a roast of Kent Greenawalt, president of Foot Levelers, Inc., on his 50th birthday. ACA was also one of the co-sponsors for the event. It was a lot of fun, and Kent took the ribbing in stride. Foot Levelers and the Greenawalts have done a lot for this profession, and it was great that we could honor Kent and have fun at the same time. On Saturday, Dr. Wills and I participated in a panel discussion. I was able to discuss ACA legislative achievements for the year, while Dr. Wills presented on the lawsuits. At the lunch sponsored by Foot Levelers, the leadership of COCSA and Kent Greenawalt made a strong pitch for the legal action fund, which resulted in numerous contributions. 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 <http://www.adobe.com/>. If you need further assistance viewing anything referred to in this report, please e-mail me at gcuneo@... <mailto:gcuneo@...>. ************************ This message is being sent to you as a courtesy by the executive vice president of the American Chiropractic Association. If you wish to be removed from this list, simply send a message to kpark@... <mailto:kpark@...> with a subject of: "REMOVE - EVP Report." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 4, 2002 Report Share Posted December 4, 2002 Dr. DeSiena, D.C. Washington Street Chiropractic Center, L.L.C.771 Washington StreetEugene, OR 97401(541) 686-2225 (BACK) Fax (541) 687-6975 ACA EVP Weekly Report MEMORANDUM ACA Members, House of Delegates, Board of Governors and Other Interested Parties From: Cuneo Re: ACA EVP Weekly Report Date: December 2, 2002 " The ACA seeks a transformation in health care from a focus on disease to a focus on wellness." -ACA Vision Statement The following items are included in this week's report: 1. ACA MAKES PROGRESS IN IMPLEMENTING ITS WELLNESS POLICY 2. NO NEWS FROM THE JUDGES 3. WILK SUIT vs. TRIGON AND HHS SUITS: COMPARABLE COSTS 4. ACA MEMBER HELPS RECRUITS NON-MEMBERS 5. MARK THE DATE - NATIONAL CHIROPRACTIC LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE 2003! 6. ACA GETS INVOLVED IN LOUISIANA SENATE RACE 7. ADHD SERIES IN JACA SPARKS INTEREST OF DOCTORS, PATIENTS 8. EVP ADVISORY COMMITTEE CALL 9. DYNAMIC ACA LONG RANGE PLAN DESIGNED TO TRANSFORM THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM 10. COLLECT ON YOUR ACCOUNTS WITH NATIONAL CREDIT SYSTEMS (NCS) 11. CAN'T ACCESS THESE LINKS? 1. ACA MAKES PROGRESS IN IMPLEMENTING ITS WELLNESS POLICY In an effort to move chiropractic wellness into the public eye, a survey has been completed to assess the amount of wellness education doctors of chiropractic receive and how that translates into practical applications in day-to-day clinical settings. Surveys were sent to the Chief Academic Officers, as well as students, at each accredited chiropractic college. All the schools participated in this survey. The survey includes questions about specific topics that are studied, teaching and assessment methods for clinical screenings, as well as practice philosophies following degree completion. The survey seeks to demonstrate strong points in wellness education, as well as areas that may warrant improvement. The ultimate goal is to move doctors of chiropractic into the forefront of wellness care within the nation's health care system. . Following an analysis of the survey responses, ACA will move forward with an implementation plan to execute a public advertising and health policy integration program. This is one initiative members have requested to replace disease management protocols with a preventive/wellness- based care model. Two years ago the House of Delegates approved a policy on wellness that directed the association to take a more proactive role in this area. A copy of ACA's policy statements can be found listed alphabetically here. Click and scroll down to "Wellness Model." <http://www.acatoday.com/pdf/2002_aca_policies.pdf> 2. NO NEWS FROM THE JUDGES Another week has passed with no news from the judge on the motion for summary judgment in our suit against Trigon. Likewise, the federal judge handling our suit against the Department of Health and Human Services has not ruled on the motion in that case. We have already succeeded in this particular suit by keeping physical therapists from providing the chiropractic-specific treatment under Medicare of "Manual Manipulation of the Spine to Correct a Subluxation." 3. WILK SUIT vs. TRIGON AND HHS SUITS: COMPARABLE COSTS During focus groups that we have conducted regarding our lawsuits, a concern that came up numerous times is why this litigation is so expensive, and what is happening with all the money. Both are legitimate questions. Since the lawsuit against HHS began in 1998, we have raised more money than any other single fundraising campaign with the exception of the Centennial. The money certainly isn't going into ACA coffers. Only 15% of lawsuit expenses have been directed to overhead (i.e., costs of telemarketing, mailing and other promotional activities). In any business, that is a very low expenditure for fundraising. In fact, the majority of overhead costs are subsidized by the ACA. 85% of the expenses associated with these suits are directly related to litigation cost. And when you consider that we are taking on the largest law firm in the world in our suit against the federal government, and equally impressive firms representing Trigon Blue Cross/Blue Shield, it should come as a surprise to no one that the costs are high. At any given time, our lead attorney, Mr. Mcs, has used up to fourteen attorneys and paralegals in filing motions and responding to the various actions of Trigon. Proving antitrust and other violations on the part of Trigon is a difficult and costly process. The brief we filled against Trigon's motion for summary judgment, including backup documentation, stacked up to 30 linear inches. Believe it or not, the costs up to this point are not unlike the costs associated with the landmark Wilk suit. That suit, which lasted ten years, cost $4.5 million. In today's dollars (1.68 inflation factor), that amount would equal $7.5 million. Our lawsuits against HHS and Trigon have cost a total of $5 million. Of this amount, one third has been directed to the suit against HHS, while the remaining has been directed toward the suit against Trigon. It is an expensive process, but a necessary one considering the high stakes involved. 4. ACA MEMBER HELPS RECRUITS NON-MEMBERS ACA member Dr. Jim Schwietert of South Dakota took my suggestion to forward to the ACA names non-member DCs who might be interested in joining the ACA. In fact, he forwarded us the names of two such doctors, which we are following up on. We are an effective organization that could be even more effective if we only had more members. Please help us by either recruiting a new member or forwarding names of prospective members to us. I have provided a link to a two-page fact sheet that may be helpful in explaining to a non-member what we are trying to accomplish and why he or she should become a part of the ACA <http://www.acatoday.com/membership/done_lately.shtml> 5. MARK THE DATE - NATIONAL CHIROPRACTIC LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE 2003! The American Chiropractic Association would like to invite you to attend the 2003 National Chiropractic Legislative Conference (NCLC) scheduled for March 5-7, 2003 in Washington, D.C. NCLC will be held at the Hyatt Regency Washington, conveniently located on Capitol Hill. To make your room reservation, please call the Hyatt Regency Washington at 202-737-1234. When making your room reservation, please mention that you are with the American Chiropractic Association to get the special group room rate of $219.00 per evening for a single or $244.00 for a double room. The Hyatt Regency is located at 400 New Jersey Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20001. Please note the room reservation cutoff date is February 7, 2003. After that date, the hotel will not guarantee room availability or the special group rate. The Hyatt Regency Washington has created the following Web site to allow NCLC 2003 attendees to book their hotel room reservations on-line: www.washingtonregency.hyatt.com/groupbooking/acha <http://www.washingtonregency.hyatt.com/groupbooking/acha> 6. ACA GETS INVOLVED IN LOUISIANA SENATE RACE The ACA is getting involved in another Senate race where the outcome is still too close to call. The incumbent is Senator Landrieu, a first-term democrat who is opposed by republican challenger Suzanne Haik Terrell. Louisiana has a very peculiar election process in which its primary election is held the same day that the rest of the country is having its general election. If any candidate receives 50% of the vote, he or she is declared the winner. Landrieu received 46% against three republican candidates, with Terrell receiving the highest vote among the three republicans. Senator Landrieu has a good relationship with the Louisiana Chiropractic Association, and in particular its executive director, Kathy Chittom. Additionally, Landrieu is supportive of the ACA's proposal on Medicare. In fact, in a letter she wrote to a chiropractic doctor who asked for her support on our legislation, she stated, "As your letter states, the current system for Medicare reimbursement unfairly discriminates against doctors of chiropractic in favor of other physicians or therapists. Most often, a distinction of this kind exists because of CMS' desire to ensure that Medicare services are provided by physicians or other medical providers equipped with the education and training deemed necessary to perform the covered service. While I am generally in support of this desire, it appears to me that if a state law has determined that a doctor of chiropractic is not only competent but authorized to perform a particular service, then they should be eligible for reimbursement. HR 902 proposes a sensible solution to a complicated problem. If this bill or a similar amendment comes to the Senate for consideration, I would be happy to give it my support." As always, we support those candidates who support the chiropractic profession. 7. ADHD SERIES IN JACA SPARKS INTEREST OF DOCTORS, PATIENTS A recent two-part series of articles in the Journal of the American Chiropractic Association (JACA) on chiropractic approaches to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has generated numerous phone calls, not only from not ACA members and non-member doctors, but also health care consumers across the country. Written by ACA's Associate Director of Production Nataliya Schetchikova, PhD, the JACA series was featured in a recent news release distributed by ACA's media relations staff - prompting interested doctors and patients to call ACA for copies of the articles. The articles point out that many parents are growing leery of the traditional medical approach to ADHD and feature the promising results that doctors of chiropractic are experiencing with non-drug treatments that focus on postural muscles, nutrition and lifestyle changes that affect brain activity. Visit ACA's Web site at <http://www.acatoday.com/media/releases/adhd.shtml> for a copy of the news release, as well as a copy of the two-part series, "Children with ADHD-Medical vs. Chiropractic Perspective and Theory," from the July 2002 and August 2002 issues of JACA. 8. EVP ADVISORY COMMITTEE CALL On November 5th, ACA vice presidents, legal counsel and I participated on a conference call with the leadership of a number of state associations to discuss issues of mutual concern. Joining us on the call were representatives from Alabama, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Kentucky, Colorado, South Dakota, Iowa and Arizona. The topics discussed on the call included an update on HIPAA, our recent student loan legislation, NCLC and Wal-Mart. The next meeting of the EVP Advisory Committee is scheduled for December 12th at 1:00pm Eastern. 9. DYNAMIC ACA LONG RANGE PLAN DESIGNED TO TRANSFORM THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM With an eye toward transforming the nation's health care system from a focus on disease to a focus on wellness, the ACA's House of Delegates approved an updated long-range plan during the association's annual meeting, August 28-30, in Kansas City, MO. The culmination of months of work by the ACA's Long-Range Planning Committee, chaired by Dr. Rick Mc, the new plan is designed to serve the needs of the chiropractic profession and patients nationwide by fully integrating doctors of chiropractic as decision-makers in the nation's health care delivery system. The major goals contained in ACA's updated long-range plan include: · Access, Utilization and Parity Reimbursement · Majority Membership (majority of licensed DCs being ACA members) · Public Awareness · Quality Patient-Centered Health Care · Visionary Leadership · DCs as Decision Makers If you wish to receive a detailed copy of the long-range plan, either drop me an email or go directly to: <http://www.acatoday.com/membersonly/external_goals.pdf>. You will need your ACA username and password to access this link. If you do not have this information, please call 800-986-4636 to obtain it. By the way, unlike many long-range plans that are drafted by various organizations, this one does not gather dust in someone's closest. We are required by the ACA House of Delegates to provide two yearly reports on the progress being made in implementing the plan. Also, the job performance plans of the vice presidents, including my own, include provisions regarding the plan. We can't afford to allow the plan to languish. 10. COLLECT ON YOUR ACCOUNTS WITH NATIONAL CREDIT SYSTEMS (NCS) ACA's member benefit program with National Credit Systems (NCS) helps you collect on your large and small delinquent accounts. Collection costs are based on the number of NCS claim forms ordered, and on the percentage of the monies collected. If you submit 100 claim forms to NCS, on average, 56% of those delinquent accounts are paid in full. For more information about NCS collection and credit reporting services available to ACA members, click here: <http://cliserv.nationalcredit.com/goodnews.html>. 11. 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 <http://www.adobe.com/>. If you need further assistance viewing anything referred to in this report, please e-mail me at gcuneo@... <mailto:gcuneo@...>. ************************ This message is being sent to you as a courtesy by the executive vice president of the American Chiropractic Association. If you wish to be removed from this list, simply send a message to kpark@... <mailto:kpark@...> with a subject of: "REMOVE - EVP Report." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 8, 2003 Report Share Posted January 8, 2003 ACA EVP Weekly Report Memorandum ACA Members, House of Delegates, Board of Governors and Other Interested Parties From: 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 rs 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 rs. 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. Rupert of 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 <http://www.adobe.com/>. If you need further assistance viewing anything referred to in this report, please e-mail me at gcuneo@... <mailto:gcuneo@...>. ************************ This message is being sent to you as a courtesy by the executive vice president of the American Chiropractic Association. If you wish to be removed from this list, simply send a message to kpark@... <mailto:kpark@...> with a subject of: "REMOVE - EVP Report." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 5, 2003 Report Share Posted February 5, 2003 ACA EVP Weekly Report Memorandum ACA Members, House of Delegates, Board of Governors and Other Interested Parties From: Cuneo Re: ACA EVP Weekly Report Date: February 3, 2003 This week's report includes the following items: 1. TAKE THE GLOVES OFF WITH SHOWTIME 2. ACA SCORES POSITIVE PRESS FOR CHIROPRACTIC 3. COINCIDENCE OR CONSPIRACY? FACTS FROM GEORGE MCANDREWS, ESQ. 4. PARKER WAS A SUCCESS IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE 5. BREAKTHROUGH COACHING SETS THE BAR HIGH 6. VACCINE PROVISION DRAWS FIRE 7. NCLC TO PROVIDE USEFUL TOOLS TO LEADERSHIP OF STATE ASSOCIATIONS 8. BUSH MEDICARE PLAN: DEAD ON ARRIVAL? 9. RENEW YOUR SUBSCRIPTION TO THE NEW ACA PRACTICE ADVISORY 10. CAN'T ACCESS THESE LINKS? 1. TAKE THE GLOVES OFF WITH SHOWTIME In last week's report, I informed you that ACA General Counsel Mcs, Esq., had sent a preemptive letter to Showtime Networks as the cable network prepared to air an anti-chiropractic program featuring comedians/magicians Penn & Teller. The program aired on Friday, January 31 at 11:00pm ET/PT, and it was a despicable portrayal of this great profession. The ACA plans to set the record straight with Showtime about this broadcast. But there is something you can do too. Please ask your patients to write a letter to Showtime Networks letting them know of their outrage over an attack against the profession that has helped the patient navigate the ups and downs of life in a fashion that was unavailable from what is provided by the medical profession. You might also tell your patients that chiropractic care is universally acknowledged by the journals of the medical profession to be superior in caring for their neuromusculoskeletal concerns. Talk with your patients on whether or not they wish to continue to expend money on such a channel that provides such misinformation. Letters can be sent to: Blank, CEO & Chairman Showtime Networks 1633 Broadway 17th Floor New York, NY 10019-6708 (email: blank.matthew@... <mailto:blank.matthew@...>) And to: Jerry Offsay, Programming President Showtime Networks10880 Wilshire Blvd. Suites 1500 & 1600Los Angeles, CA 90024 (email: offsay.jerry@... <mailto:offsay.jerry@...>) The general email mailbox for the network is: talk2@... <mailto:talk2@...>. Showtime can be reached via phone at: (212) 708-1600 in New York, and at (310) 234-5200 in Los Angeles. 2. ACA SCORES POSITIVE PRESS FOR CHIROPRACTIC Despite the baseless attack administered by Showtime this past week, the ACA has secured some outstanding positive coverage for chiropractic in the media of late. In its June 2003 issue, Prevention magazine - the largest health/fitness magazine in the country - will be running an article featuring the success story of a chiropractic patient of ACA member Unruh, DC. This particular patient was given her life back thanks to chiropractic care, and the world will soon read about it when the article appears in the magazine. Prevention enjoys a circulation of over 3 million readers. The article will provide ACA's toll-free number, which readers can call to locate ACA members - like you - in their community. Additionally, the Associated Press (AP) recently contacted the ACA for an interview and then published a terrific story about doctors of chiropractic treating truck drivers. The article, which features ACA national spokesperson Jerome Mcs, DC, is currently being picked up by newspapers across the country. Finally, Bautch, DC, immediate past president of ACA's Council on Occupational Health, is quoted in the February issue of Men's Fitness magazine on the subject of airplane travel - a subject on which ACA has released information in the past. 3. COINCIDENCE OR CONSPIRACY? FACTS FROM GEORGE MCANDREWS, ESQ. ACA General Counsel Mcs, Esq., called me the other day and asked me to write down the following facts: A. December 8, 1994: AHCPR came out with their guidelines indicating that spinal manipulation was the preferred treatment for low back pain. B. December 9, 1994: The newspapers declared that the chiropractic profession was the winner from this AHCPR report and that doctors of chiropractic were shown to be better than medical practitioners for treatment of low back pain. Examples: Chicago Tribune, December 9, 1994, "Chiropractors get a boost and surgeons a setback in new government-backed guidelines on how to treat low back pain." Chicago Sun-Times, December 8, 1994, "When it comes to lower back pain, think twice before resorting to the usual remedies--bed rest, prescription drugs and surgery. Try a chiropractor instead." C. December 14, 1994: Only 6 days after decreeing that care provided by chiropractors was best for pain and for functional improvement for low back pain, HHS and HCFA (now CMS) issued Operational Policy letter #23 without notice and comment, stating that managed care plans are not required to offer manual manipulation of the spine to correct a subluxation through chiropractors, and that non-physicians, such as physical therapists, may provide this treatment. (Later, HHS was forced to retract the latter portion in response to our November 12, 1998 suit against Secretary Shalala, but HCFA refused to publish a retraction or cancel the policy letter. It was not until there was a change in the administration, with Secretary Tommy coming on board, that the policy letter was changed. D. After nearly seven years, a new policy letter was issued reversing the decision to allow physical therapists to provide the chiropractic service. However, the letter still allows osteopaths and medical doctors to be reimbursed for the service. The judge in our suit has still not acted on this important component of the situation. It's tough to dispute the feeling that for years there were many in the government(and still exist) who tried to contain and eliminate the chiropractic profession, not withstanding the Wilk decision. 4. PARKER WAS A SUCCESS IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE Last weekend, more than 8,000 doctors of chiropractic and chiropractic assistants converged on the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel to attend the 51st annual Seminar. There were numerous and diverse educational programs on Thursday and Friday, including presentations by Dr. Haldeman, Dr. Jim ,Dr Terry Yockum and Dr. Malik Slosberg. And on Saturday, prominent athletes and celebrities offered testimonials regarding their positive chiropractic experiences. Throughout the seminar, the staff offered the National Chiropractic Legal Action Committee numerous opportunities to raise money for the National Chiropractic Legal Action Fund (NCLAF). The opportunities culminated on Saturday morning, when a video about the legal action fund featuring Dr. Carl Cleveland III was shown on two giant screens, and chiropractic leaders such as Dr. Gentempo, Dr. Carl Cleveland III, Dr. Larry Markson and SACA National Chair Janelle Whitehead gave testimonials about the critical nature of our legal efforts. Additionally, Foot Levelers and Breakthrough Coaching each made generous financial contributions to the NCLAF. In all, we raised over $520,000 for the lawsuits. Combined with what we had raised previously at Seminars since January 2002, the cumulative contributions total over $800,000. We wish to thank Dr. Mancini and his team teachers for their terrific support in this effort. 5. BREAKTHROUGH COACHING SETS THE BAR HIGH During the celebration on Saturday, Dr. Mark Sanna, President of Breakthrough Coaching, made a commitment to contribute $100,000 to the legal action fund. He indicated that he and his coaches are committed to donating the proceeds of their upcoming programs to this effort. Needless to say, the National Chiropractic Legal Action Committee was tremendously appreciative. Over the last couple of years, Breakthrough Coaching has been a great supporter of the ACA. Not only are Dr. Sanna and his coaches ACA members, but all of them signed on early as $100 per month contributors to the legal action fund. 6. VACCINE PROVISION DRAWS FIRE In last year's rush to complete massive legislation creating the new Department of Homeland Security, lobbyists for pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly & Company succeeded in "sneaking" a non-related "special interest" provision into the bill, aimed at shielding Lilly and others from lawsuits stemming from the use of mercury-based preservatives in childhood vaccines. Lilly is being sued by parents who allege the vaccines caused their children to develop autism. Lilly's clever move, however, was discovered during last year's debate over the bill and has generated controversy. Several members of Congress have vowed to enact new legislation repealing the Lilly vaccine provision, and the ACA is supporting their efforts. See the following links for more information and an Issue Brief on the subject by the ACA: <http://www.acatoday.com/hot_topics/vaccine.shtml>, <http://www.acatoday.com/hot_topics/vaccine_repeal.shtml>. 7.. NCLC TO PROVIDE USEFUL TOOLS TO LEADERSHIP OF STATE ASSOCIATIONS The National Chiropractic Legislative Conference (NCLC), scheduled for March 5-8 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Washington D.C., will provide the leadership of state associations with numerous programs that will assist them in their endeavors. In addition to the opportunity to meet with their members of Congress to promote a comprehensive chiropractic agenda and to hear presentations from influential government and congressional figures, the weekend program will include a presentation on the art of fundraising from the prominent firm simply known as "Raising More Money." Mr. Mcs, Esq., will provide an update on the lawsuit, and a program for new doctors will be offered as well. As I mentioned in last week's EVP report, a Blue CCHIP program and a CCAC program are also scheduled. Additional NCLC information can be found at: <http://www.acatoday.com/about/nclc2003/>. The Blue CCHIP agenda can be found at: <http://www.acatoday.com/about/nclc2003/bcchip_agenda.shtml>, and the CCAC agenda can be found at <http://www.acatoday.com/about/nclc2003/ccac_topics.shtml>. 8.. BUSH MEDICARE PLAN: DEAD ON ARRIVAL? No real details are available yet about President Bush's proposal to deal with the current Medicare problem, except that the basic scheme is to induce beneficiaries into private plans that would offer a drug benefit as an inducement to switch from traditional Medicare. Behind this proposal is the belief that private plans (many of which would be HMOs, PPOs, etc.) would do a better job of holding down overall program costs -- so program costs wouldn't grow as fast as they currently project the traditional Medicare plan will as the baby boom generation starts becoming eligible for Medicare. Currently at about 40 million beneficiaries -- this would ultimately go to about 80 million beneficiaries. Big growth in the program should start in about 10 years. The democrats have already expressed deep concerns about the proposal. Rep. Bill (R-CA), Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committees and Senator Grassley (R-IA), Republican gatekeepers of Medicare proposals in their respective houses, have not indicated their position on the issue, which isn't a good sign for the administration. We will obviously continue to monitor this important proposal. 9.. RENEW YOUR SUBSCRIPTION TO THE NEW ACA PRACTICE ADVISORY The popular ACA Addendum is receiving a facelift starting with a new name: ACA Practice Advisory: Regulatory and Insurance Reimbursement Policies and Current Practical Applications. Four times a year, the advisory will guide you through proper applications of the often-confusing treatment and diagnostic codes. The advisory will contain fact-filled articles on the latest coding issues, and will feature a special question-and-answer section based on reader feedback. This is a must-have resource for every office, and is the perfect compliment to your CPT 2003 coding manual. Don't delay. Renew your subscription today! ACA Practice Advisory: Regulatory and Insurance Reimbursement Policies and Current Practical Applications ACA Member Price: $25.00 Non-Member Price: $35.00 Order Item Sub03. SPECIAL SAVINGS! For additional savings when you renew your subscription to the ACA Practice Advisory, order in conjunction with ACA's 2003 Chiropractic Coding Solutions Manual. ACA Member Price: $67.00 Non-Member Price: $103.95 Order Item CPT03Sub. 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 <http://www.adobe.com/>. If you need further assistance viewing anything referred to in this report, please e-mail me at gcuneo@... <mailto:gcuneo@...>. ************************ This message is being sent to you as a courtesy by the executive vice president of the American Chiropractic Association. If you wish to be removed from this list, simply send a message to kpark@... <mailto:kpark@...> with a subject of: "REMOVE - EVP Report." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 12, 2003 Report Share Posted February 12, 2003 ACA EVP Weekly Report Memorandum ACA Members, House of Delegates, Board of Governors and Other Interested PartiesFrom: CuneoRe: ACA EVP Weekly ReportDate: February 10, 2003 This week's report includes the following items: 1. STATUS QUO ON ACA LAWSUITS 2. ACA BLASTS SHOWTIME 3. VA POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS ON ACA'S WEB SITE 4. ANTHONY PRINCIPE CONFIRMS FOR NATIONAL CHIROPRACTIC LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE 5. FOOT LEVELERS MAKES ITS COMMITMENT 6. OTHER OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTORS 7. ACA ADDRESSES "ReviewWorks" 8. CALIFORNIA GEARS UP FOR MAJOR BATTLES 9. VOLUNTEERISM ALIVE AND WELL AT PARKER 10. NORTHWESTERN HOMECOMING DRAWS ALUMNI; SACA CHAPTER OUTSTANDING 11. ACA's 2003 CHIROPRACTIC CODING SOLUTIONS MANUAL 12. REGISTER FOR THE WORLD FEDERATION OF CHIROPRACTIC ORLANDO CONGRESS 13. ACA OPPOSES CONFIRMATION OF NACM MEMBER 14. CAN'T ACCESS THESE LINKS? 1. STATUS QUO ON ACA LAWSUITS The judge in the Trigon/Anthem lawsuit is still in the process of reviewing the motions for summary judgment filed by both sides. He is also reviewing the voluminous reports and expert testimony statements derived from the discovery process. If he decides not to grant the motion of either party, the case will be scheduled for a new trial date, with the trial expected to last approximately two weeks. If he grants Trigon/Anthem's motion, we will appeal the decision to the federal court of appeals. At issue is Trigon/Anthem's attempt to contain and eliminate chiropractic through the adoption of barriers to chiropractic reimbursement in much the same way the AMA sought -- in the Wilk case -- to contain and eliminate and chiropractic through the adoption of ethical barriers of professional relationships between doctors of chiropractic and medical doctors. It is unlawful economic discrimination today -- as it was unlawful ethical prohibitions 30 years ago -- that is at the heart of what we are fighting against. As for our Medicare lawsuit, the judge continues to have the government's motion for summary judgment before him as he has for quite some time now. ACA general counsel Mcs, Esq., has indicated that he will see if he can move the court to make its long-awaited ruling on the motion so that we may proceed to trial or take the issue up on appeal if necessary. At issue here is the ability of Medicare to effectively write chiropractic services out of Medicare managed care by adopting regulations permitting and encouraging managed care organizations to use non-chiropractors to perform "manual manipulation of the spine to correct a subluxation," the chiropractic benefit that every Medicare beneficiary is entitled to receive under the law. As in the Wilk case and in our Trigon/Anthem litigation we view this action as another effort to contain chiropractic by eliminating it from its rightful place in the Medicare program. 2. ACA BLASTS SHOWTIME In a strongly worded letter to the cable network "Showtime," the ACA has made its feelings known loud and clear that the network's broadcasting of an anti-chiropractic program featuring Penn & Teller was outrageous and unacceptable. Should any of your patients be concerned about this Showtime broadcast, I encourage you to share ACA's letter with them. The letter can be found here: <http://www.acatoday.com/media/record/showtime.shtml>. Please continue to let Showtime Networks know how you feel about its ridiculous portrayal of our profession. Letters can be sent to: Blank, CEO & Chairman Showtime Networks 1633 Broadway 17th Floor New York, NY 10019-6708 (email: blank.matthew@... <mailto:blank.matthew@...>) And to: Jerry Offsay, Programming President Showtime Networks10880 Wilshire Blvd. Suites 1500 & 1600Los Angeles, CA 90024 (email: offsay.jerry@... <mailto:offsay.jerry@...>) The general email mailbox for the network is: talk2@... <mailto:talk2@...>. Showtime can be reached via phone at: (212) 708-1600 in New York, and at (310) 234-5200 in Los Angeles. 3. VA POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS ON ACA'S WEB SITEAt the December 4-5, 2002, meeting of the VA Chiropractic Advisory Committee (CAC) in Washington, D.C., , DC, Vaughn, DC, and Rick Mc, DC.made power point presentations about the chiropractic profession to the full committee. Dr. began with an excellent presentation on chiropractic education and the CCE; Dr. Vaughn followed with a detailed presentation on scope of practice, licensure, and National Board testing; and Dr. Rick Mc spoke on chiropractic practice and what has been learned from the DoD project. The statistics regarding the DoD demonstration projects were particularly revealing. The medical members of the VA Committee learned a great deal about the chiropractic profession during these three outstanding presentations. Copies of the PowerPoint presentations can be found at the following link. Simply scroll down to "Presentations to the Chiropractic VA Advisory Committee:" <http://www.acatoday.com/government/>4. ANTHONY PRINCIPE CONFIRMS FOR NATIONAL CHIROPRACTIC LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCESecretary Principe of the Veterans Administration has confirmed to address the attendees of the National Chiropractic Legislative Conference (NCLC) on Thursday morning, March 6. We have invited a number of other prominent members of the Administration including HHS Secretary Tommy and Karl Rove of the White House, as well as several esteemed members of Congress. This is an event you won't want to miss.We welcome Secretary Principe to NCLC in the wake of the passage of legislation making chiropractic a permanent benefit within the Veterans Administration. He will play an important role in the implementation of this legislation.5. FOOT LEVELERS MAKES ITS COMMITMENTThere are very few companies in this profession that have given back as much as Foot Levelers has. Many chiropractic colleges and state associations have benefited from Foot Levelers' generosity. The attitude of Monte and Kent Greenawalt has always been that if you support the profession, the profession will support you. They have been supporters of both ACA lawsuits early and often -- both financially and through their publications. At the recent program in Las Vegas, Kent Greenawalt presented a check for $27,000 to the National Chiropractic Legal Action Fund (NCLAF), bringing Foot Levelers' total contribution to $55,000.6. OTHER OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTORSThe ACA extends a sincere thanks to these outstanding recent contributors: The Pennsylvania Chiropractic Association contributed $5,000, bringing its total contribution to $20,500...The Kentucky Association of Chiropractic contributed $1,000 bring its total to $5,000...The Florida Chiropractic Association contributed $1,250 brining its total to $21,250...The Palmer College of Chiropractic Student ACA (SACA) chapter contributed $100, bringing its total to $ 1,377.35...The ChiroCode Institute contributed $1,000, bringing its total to $3,000. 7. ACA ADDRESSES "ReviewWorks"The ACA has written a letter to ReviewWorks, a utilization review company based in Southfield, Michigan, which is used by insurers throughout the mid-western states to review claims. ReviewWorks has a blanket denial policy in place that denies 97124 (massage therapy) when billed in conjunction with CMT codes. The ACA's letter refutes their policy, detailing that it is against AMA CPT intent. We hope to hear from ReviewWorks soon and have this situation resolved as quickly as possible. If you have been adversely affected by this policy of ReviewWorks, you are welcome to fax your complaint, EOBs, or denial letters to: Attn: PDR, at 703-243-2593. As the situation warrants, we will update you as to our progress in future editions of this report and future issues of ACA Today.8. CALIFORNIA GEARS UP FOR MAJOR BATTLESThe California Chiropractic Association (CCA) is preparing for a major legislative war against two bills being introduced in the California legislature. The first is a bill that would allow physical therapists to diagnose and perform spinal manipulation. The second is a bill that would establish a naturopathic license. The PT legislation looks particularly scary and we all need to be supportive of the CCA in their efforts. 9. VOLUNTEERISM ALIVE AND WELL AT PARKERYou should have seen them: Thursday afternoon -- placing on each of the 4,000 chairs in the auditorium right before a presentation by Patch -- a legal action fund brochure and a copy of the "Spokes of Chiropractic" in less than twenty minutes. Or on Saturday morning at 6:30 am -- 25 individuals placing a legal action fund pledge sheet on each of the 8000 chairs. Or throughout the four days of the program manning the two SOS booths and one ACA booth. Who were these individuals? The volunteers of this association. Sure the ACA staff was there, and they did an outstanding job. But the volunteers went above and beyond the call of duty. I would like to recognize and thank them for this dedication: This group includes the ACA Board of Governors (Drs. , Daryl Wills, McClelland, Mertz, Mike Flynn, Glenn Manceaux, Zange, Jerilynn Kaibel, Combs, Don Krippendorf, Bazakos and Brassard); the ACA Auxiliary (Bobbie Wills, Nell Handley, Marcia Gillespie, Broeg, Lois Payne and Virginia Kessinger); Drs. Glenn Heese, Ed McKenzie, and Jack Kessinger; Olympic star Beth Larson; Dr. Olga Gazonas, Dr. Dick , Dr. Fidler, Dr. Doug , SACA National Chair Janelle Whitehead, Darlene Flynn, Dr. Spoto and Dr. Vaughn.One final word about the Auxiliary. They waived their reimbursement for the meeting at in order to help fund our sponsorship of Olympic Gold and Silver Medal-winner Parra. These are committed ladies who deserve our support..10. NORTHWESTERN HOMECOMING DRAWS ALUMNI; SACA CHAPTER OUTSTANDINGLast Thursday I had the opportunity to address 800-plus doctors who attended the Homecoming of Northwestern College of Chiropractic. This annual event is always a big draw, and it is clear that there is a tremendous amount of loyalty to the college. Dr. Al Traina, President of the College, and his predecessor Dr. berg, have much to be proud of.What I was also impressed with was the activities of the strong SACA (Student ACA) chapter on campus. Dr. Fidler, ACA delegate from Minnesota, is to be commended for the SACA chapter's fine work. The chapter plans to send 30 students to NCLC and to contribute to the legal action fund as well. These students started a silent auction with nearly $5,000 in donated items. They also raised money by serving as valet parking attendants, and with the weather outside at 5 degrees this is hazardous duty! They also served as ushers at recent hockey games. What commitment from our future doctors!11. ACA's 2003 CHIROPRACTIC CODING SOLUTIONS MANUAL ACA's 2003 Chiropractic Coding Solutions Manual features a high level of detail that will enhance your understanding of current and new codes and help assure correct usage as your practice seeks fair reimbursement. The 2003 edition is the only chiropractic-specific resource developed by doctors of chiropractic for doctors of chiropractic. Our 2003 CPT manual includes an expanded section on consultation codes, a new section on laboratory services, an expanded, easy-to-use ICD-9 coding section, nutritional counseling codes, updated insert on HIPAA, updated Medicare section and an updated federal workers' compensation section. And, to further enhance ease-of-use, a FREE searchable CD-ROM accompanies each order for the 2003 publication. SPECIAL SAVINGS! For additional savings when you order ACA's 2003 Chiropractic Coding Solutions Manual, renew your subscription to the ACA Practice Advisory (previously the ACA Addendum}. ACA Member Price: $67.00; Non-Member Price: $103.95To order, call 800-368-3083. Order Item CPT03Sub for both the publication and the newsletter.12. REGISTER FOR THE WORLD FEDERATION OF CHIROPRACTIC ORLANDO CONGRESS The World Federation of Chiropractic (WFC) will hold its 7th biennial Congress at the Hilton at the Walt Disney World Resort May 1- 3, 2003. If you plan to attend this major meeting, co-sponsored by the ACA, register now. Registrations are pouring in, exhibit space is sold out, and hotel space is going fast. Speakers/technique instructors truly are a chiropractic "who's who" on the themes of management of cervical spine and sports chiropractic. See <http://www.chiroweb.com/wfcorlando2003> for all details, or contact the WFC (Gillian) at tel. 416-484-9978, fax. 416-484-9665 or congress@... <mailto:congress@...>.13. ACA OPPOSES CONFIRMATION OF NACM MEMBER On behalf of Texas ACA members, the ACA Board of Governors took an official position in opposition to Dr. Rhudy's confirmation as a member of the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners. The following letter was sent to Texas Governor Rick , and we learned last Thursday that the governor has withdrawn his appointment of Dr. Rhudy. February 3, 2003 Dear Governor : As the world's largest chiropractic membership organization representing 16,000 members (including over 1,800 Texas members), the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) strongly opposes the appointment of R. Rhudy, D.C. to the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners. Although the American Chiropractic Association has never before officially supported or opposed a doctor's appointment and/or confirmation to a state chiropractic licensing board, the ACA's position on this matter is necessary, comes at the request of Texas ACA members and was officially adopted by the ACA Board of Governors on January 30, 2003. The American Chiropractic Association's opposition to Dr. Rhudy's appointment is based on the fact that he is a current member of and has served as "Missouri Delegate" for the National Association of Chiropractic Medicine (a splinter group with radical views); he was affiliated with the orthopractic manipulation movement that was accused by the Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards of using terminology that "may be misleading and/or deceptive to the patient public." [www.chiroweb.com/archives/12/17/08.html <http://www.chiroweb.com/archives/12/17/08.html>]; a member of the National Council Against Health Fraud (a vocal anti-chiropractic organization); and is listed as a legal advisor for both Quackwatch.com and Chirobase.com (biased anti-chiropractic websites). The American Chiropractic Association also has grave concern about the sixty-six page amended complaint [www.chiroweb.com/rhudy <http://www.chiroweb.com/rhudy>] filed in federal court on January 14, 2003 by the Allstate Insurance Companies. The complaint alleges Accident & Injury Clinics (A & I) and its related entities and various chiropractors, osteopaths and medical doctors with violations of "numerous provisions of the Texas Occupations Code," common-law fraud, common-law conspiracy and unjust enrichment. Among those named in the lawsuit are A & I owner Mr. and A & I Chief of Staff and Compliance Officer Rhudy, D.C. The American Chiropractic Association is convinced that there are more qualified Texas chiropractors to serve in this important position. Dr. Rhudy's membership and affiliations with extremist organizations indicates a strong bias against mainstream chiropractic that could adversely affect the practice rights and even the careers of Texas doctors of chiropractic. It is also the opinion of the ACA that it is highly inappropriate for Dr. Rhudy to be sitting in judgment of other doctors at the very time he himself, as the Chief of Staff and Compliance Officer for A & I, is involved in federal litigation alleging inappropriate activities. On behalf of Texas ACA members, the American Chiropractic Association respectfully requests that the appointment of R. Rhudy, D.C. to the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners be withdrawn or rejected. Sincerely, Daryl D. Wills, DC ACA President D. , DC ACA Chairman 17. 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 <http://www.adobe.com/>. If you need further assistance viewing anything referred to in this report, please e-mail me at gcuneo@... <mailto:gcuneo@...>. ************************ This message is being sent to you as a courtesy by the executive vice president of the American Chiropractic Association. If you wish to be removed from this list, simply send a message to kpark@... <mailto:kpark@...> with a subject of: "REMOVE - EVP Report." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 18, 2003 Report Share Posted February 18, 2003 ACA EVP Weekly Report Memorandum ACA Members, House of Delegates, Board of Governors and Other Interested PartiesFrom: CuneoRe: EVP Weekly Report Date: February 17, 2003 GREAT REASONS TO ATTEND ACA'S 2003 NATIONAL CHIROPRACTIC LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE Briefing on VA and DOD Implementation Briefing on Student Loan Implementation Presentations by Prominent Members of Congress and the Administration "Blue CCHIP" Conference Chiropractic r Advisory Committee Conference Fundraising Seminar Update on Chiropractic Legal Action Demonstrating Chiropractic Power on Capitol Hill Congressional Reception New Doctor Seminar (Free for ACA Members) Update on Canadian Stroke Litigation For more information, visit: <http://www.acatoday.com/about/nclc2003/> The following items are covered in this week's report: CONGRESS PASSES LEGISLATION TO CANCEL MEDICARE FEE REDUCTION (SCHEDULED FOR MARCH 1) NEW DOCTOR SEMINAR: FREE FOR ACA MEMBERS VIRGINIA CHIROPRACTIC ASSOCIATION, DOCTORS CONTINUE TO CONTRIBUTE CAPITOL HILL DOCTOR HEADS BRIEFING ON DOD AND VA BLUE CCHIP PROGRAM ADDS NEGOTIATION EXPERT TO PROGRAM RESPONSES TO SURVEY QUESTION SURVEY QUESTION OF THE WEEK SUMMARY OF THE REPORT OF THE U.S. BONE AND JOINT DECADE AND CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC) MEETING: JAN. 10, 2003 DOCTOR PRESENTATIONS AT THE VETERANS COMMITTEE MEETING ARE WORTH A REVIEW DR. MEEKER IN THE SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE THANKS, SPONSORS CAN'T ACCESS THESE LINKS? 1. CONGRESS PASSES LEGISLATION TO CANCEL MEDICARE FEE REDUCTION (SCHEDULED FOR MARCH 1) After weeks of haggling, Congress passed a massive $397 billion "Omnibus Appropriations Bill" (SJRes.2) on February 13 to fund the operations of U.S. government agencies and programs through the remainder of Fiscal Year 2003, and sent the measure to President Bush, who is expected to sign the measure into law. The massive bill included usual pork barrel projects, such as promoting soccer through the U.S. Soccer Federation ($50,000); $90,000 to create a bilingual audio tour for the cowgirl museum in Fort Worth, TX; $250,000 to study shitakemushrooms in Booneville, Arkansas. It did include something positive for health care professions: a legislative fix canceling out the anticipated March 1, 4.4% payment reduction for Medicare providers. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the fix will result in a modest 1.6% increase for Medicare providers - and will cost the Medicare program approximately $54 billion over ten years. The congressional fix was needed because of errors dating back to 1998 and 1999 concerning economic data used to calculate a "baseline" for Medicare provider payments. The problem concerned the calculation of a component of the formula used to determine Medicare reimbursement, known as the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR). Because of this situation, providers were forced to accept an unintended decrease in payments last year, and were facing an additional reduction March 1, 2003. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) had insisted the agency did not have legal authority to make the required adjustments in the formula to correct the problem and stave off the March 1 anticipated hit. The legislation passed by Congress is intended to give HHS the authority to not only halt the March 1 reduction, but to permanently fix the SGR-related problem. That's the good news - but watch out for some temporary payment glitches and possible payment delays as HHS and Medicare contractors rush to try and adjust their payment systems to reflect the new law passed by Congress. ACA has participated in a coalition led by the AMA in working on this issue for over a year. While the outcome could be better, in this environment it is the best that could be anticipated. 2. NEW DOCTOR SEMINAR: FREE FOR ACA MEMBERS ACA's National Chiropractic Legislative Conference (NCLC) will include an all-day seminar for new practitioners on Saturday, March 9. Featuring Dr. Mark Sanna of Breakthrough Coaching, Dr. Lou Sportelli of NCMIC and Dr. Lance Armstrong, a new doctor will learn about a number of topics necessary for survival in this new health care environment, including: Basic Practice Needs: licensure, insurance and equipment Associating, Buying or Starting from Scratch Financial Classifications of Patients: payment types, workers' comp, managed care, Medicare and more Risk Management: documentation, coding and managed care procedures Patient Acquisition: advertising, community involvement and more While the program is geared toward new practitioners, every doctor will gain something from this program that's FREE for ACA members. For additional details, contact the ACA at 1-800-986-4636. 3. VIRGINIA CHIROPRACTIC ASSOCIATION, DOCTORS CONTINUE TO CONTRIBUTE One of the quiet but strong supporters of the National Chiropractic Legal Action Committee has been the Virginia Chiropractic Association (VCA) and the member doctors who practice in that state. Although faced with reduced reimbursement because of the discriminatory practices of Trigon, they have not only contributed to the National Chiropractic Legal Action Fund (NCLAF), but they are also supporting an attorney representing the VCA, a plaintiff in the suit. Their contributions nationally have totaled $85,645, including a $1,500 contribution from the VCA itself. 4. CAPITOL HILL DOCTOR HEADS BRIEFING ON DOD AND VA Dr. -- clinic director for chiropractic at the Bethesda Naval Hospital and one of two doctors who treat members of Congress and the Supreme Court at the U.S.Capitol -- will head a special briefing on chiropractic inclusion in the DOD and VA at the National Chiropractic Legislative Conference (NCLC) on Wednesday, March 5th, from 2:00 to 4:00 PM. Included in the program will be a remarkable video that members of the VA Chiropractic Committee viewed at the Bethesda Hospital during their recent meeting in Washington, D.C. The video shows a number of medical physicians who hold ranking positions at the Bethesda hospital commenting on their chiropractic experience. Additionally, Dr. and Dr. Terrence Kearney -- who also works at Bethesda and the Capitol -- will share their experiences and vision of what chiropractic could be under the VA and DOD system. ACA and ACC lobbyists will be discussing how to implement this vision. Finally, there will be updates from the chiropractic representatives of the DOD and VA advisory committees. This is sure to be an informative two hours. 5. BLUE CCHIP PROGRAM ADDS NEGOTIATION EXPERT TO PROGRAM and others involved in putting on this year's program have brought a new addition - Mr. Alan Lick - to the program. Mr. Lick brings years of experience in the area of negotiating and facilitating. He will offer a program on the art of business negotiating. This program, in addition to the other exciting items on the agenda, promises to make this year's discussion one of the best yet.6. RESPONSES TO SURVEY QUESTION In my report two weeks ago I posed the following question: "What is the one word that best describes your impression of the ACA?" I suppose the skeptics among us would say I would only receive positive comments...and I did. But I think I have a handle on this profession. Most doctors are not afraid to express their opinions. In any case, I received 22 responses, and only one from an ACA delegate. Others were from individuals I had never met before. Here is how they responded: Progressive (3 times); Valuable; Inclusive; Advocacy; Focused; Overworked; Active; Binoculars; Chiro-involved; Passionate; Service; Conciliatory; Astonishing; Busy; Working; Vital; Action; Professional (2 times); Good; Engaged 7. SURVEY QUESTION OF THE WEEK As a follow-up to the above survey question, I would appreciate your response to the following question: "What is the single most important ACA event, activity or program that supports your positive opinion about the ACA?" Please send your response directly to me and indicate whether you would have any objections if we posted your comments on our Web site. 8. SUMMARY OF THE REPORT OF THE U.S. BONE AND JOINT DECADE AND CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC) MEETING: JAN. 10, 2003 The U.S. Bone and Joint Decade (USBJD) met with Chad Helmick, MD, of the Arthritis Program of the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on January 10 to explore how each group might cooperate in meeting the USBJD's mission. The goals of the USBJD center around raising the public's awareness about musculoskeletal disorders, as well as promoting prevention, advancing research, and improving diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Helmick said that he is interested in helping the USBJD increase awareness of bone and joint disorders because of the significant human costs in both suffering and economic areas that attend arthritis. The upshot of the discussion was that CDC may help the USBJD with collaborative research funding in the area of public health research on arthritis. This exploratory meeting opened yet another door for the USBJD to the government's maze of administrative health policy decision-makers. Dr. Maurer, ACA's representative to the USBJD, stated that the meeting was also useful in terms of recognition of the chiropractic presence on the board both by the CDC and by other members of the USBJD. Additionally, Dr. Maurer is in the process of having Dr. Tony Rosner of the Federation for Chiropractic Education and Research (FCER) appointed to the governing board of USBJD, which would be a major enhancement in terms of recognition and input for chiropractic because of the many researchers and PhDs who presently serve there. 9. DOCTOR PRESENTATIONS AT THE VETERANS COMMITTEE MEETING ARE WORTH A REVIEW If you find yourself needing to make a presentation to a civic group, legislator or other public group, you will want to review the presentations that , DC, Vaughn, DC, and Rick Mc, DC, made about the chiropractic profession to the full committee of the VA Chiropractic Advisory Committee at their recent meeting in Washington, D.C. Dr. began with an excellent presentation on chiropractic education and the CCE; Dr. Vaughn followed with a detailed presentation on scope of practice, licensure, and national board testing; and Dr. Rick Mc spoke on chiropractic practice and what has been learned from the DoD project. The statistics regarding the DoD demonstration projects were particularly revealing. The medical members of the VA Committee learned a great deal about the chiropractic profession during these three outstanding presentations. Copies of the PowerPoint presentations can be found at the following link. Simply scroll down to "Presentations to the Chiropractic VA Advisory Committee:" <http://www.acatoday.com/government/> 10. DR. MEEKER IN THE SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE The sonian's Associate magazine has indicated that Dr. Bill Meeker will be the speaker for a program titled "Manipulative and Body-based Therapies: Chiropractic and Spinal Manipulation" at the sonian Institution's six-session "Complementary and Alternative Medicine, from Acupuncture to Yoga," sponsored by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Meeker will appear May 12. 11. THANKS, SPONSORS I'd like to acknowledge the corporate sponsors that will help make the 2003 National Chiropractic Legislative Conference (NCLC) a success. Everyone benefits when the corporate side of the profession supports doctors ofchiropractic and their national association. Hats off to our Platinum Sponsor--Ekornes (www.ekornes.com); our Gold Sponsors--Breakthrough Coaching (www.mybreakthrough.com) and Scrip (www.scrip-inc.com); and Silver Sponsors--Springwall (www.springwall.com) and Samsonite/Chiropak (www.samsonitecompanystores.com). 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 <http://www.adobe.com/>. If you need further assistance viewing anything referred to in this report, please e-mail me at gcuneo@... <mailto:gcuneo@...>. ************************ This message is being sent to you as a courtesy by the executive vice president of the American Chiropractic Association. If you wish to be removed from this list, simply send a message to kpark@... <mailto:kpark@...> with a subject of: "REMOVE - EVP Report." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 26, 2003 Report Share Posted February 26, 2003 ACA EVP Weekly Report Memorandum ACA Members, Board of Governors, House of Delegates, and Other Interested Parties From: Cuneo Re: ACA EVP Weekly Report Date: February 24, 2003 This week's report includes the following items: 1. NEW ACA DELEGATES 2. NEW ACA GOVERNMENT RELATIONS STAFF 3. SECURITY CONCERNS FOR NCLC 4. LEGISLATIVE BRIEFS AVAILABLE ON ACA'S WEB SITE 5. ACA, TEXAS BACK INSTITUTE FEATURED IN DALLAS MORNING NEWS 6. 5th CLAIMS SOLUTIONS WORKGROUP SCHEDULED 7. EVP ADVISORY COMMITTEE CONFERENCE CALL 8. COCSA TO LEND ITS EXPERIENCE TO NCLC 9. BUSH SIGNS LEGISLATION THAT INCLUDES MEDICARE PAYMENT PROVISION 10. A CLOSING COMMENT ABOUT PARKER FROM THE SACA PRESIDENT AT PALMER WEST COLLEGE 11. CAN'T ACCESS THESE LINKS? 1. NEW ACA DELEGATES In any democratic organization, there is going to be periodic change in leadership, either voluntarily or through an electoral process. Accordingly, January 2003 brought about some changes in the ACA leadership, with a number of new state delegates starting their two-year terms. If you have issues of a policy nature that you'd like to see raised, you should contact your delegate. Here are the new ACA delegates: Alaska: Dr. Pfeifer Colorado: Dr. Simone Delaware: Dr. Hal Bowen Florida (North): Dr. Clayton Hopkins Illinois (North): Dr. Strehl Massachusetts: Dr. Albert Kalter Oregon: Dr. Strom Ray South Carolina: Dr. Lacey Texas (West): Dr. Don Handley 2. NEW ACA GOVERNMENT RELATIONS STAFF I am pleased to announce that I have selected Mr. Jon Hymes as the new ACA Vice President for Government Relations. He was most recently Vice President for Public Affairs for International, Ltd. In this capacity he advised corporate, non-profit, trade association and government clients on a wide range of legislative and public policy issues. In addition to his former role as Director of Congressional Affairs for Comsat Corporation, Mr. Hymes spent time working on Capitol Hill, first as Legislative Director for Congressman Norman Lent, and then as Chief-of-Staff to Congressman King. He's a good one and I think you'll like him. Jon began working with us this past week. Additionally, Mr. Dennis has accepted the position of Assistant Director of Governmental Affairs. In this capacity, Mr. will split his time between legislative and regulatory matters. He was most recently the Governmental Relations Representative to the American Public Power Association. Prior to that role, he served as Legislative Representative to and Associates and as a reporter for the Congressional Quarterly. His first position in Washington, D.C., was as a Research Analyst for the Republican National Committee. Mr. began his tenure with us this past week. As you can see, he brings good experience to his new position. Jon and Dennis will be joining an ACA Government Relations team that includes Rick and Duke Short, with great support from Mildred Owens and Kim Krocker. We plan to fill our Political Action Committee (PAC) Director position shortly. 3. SECURITY CONCERNS FOR NCLC As you know, our Nation's Capital -- along with the rest of the nation -- is currently operating under Homeland Security Department Code Orange -- the highest "threat" condition that has been implemented since the attacks of September 11. Please be advised that under this threat level, access to the Capitol office buildings and the offices of individual members of Congress and staff is not significantly impeded. Accordingly, we anticipate no significant interference to your efforts to lobby Congress during the National Chiropractic Legislative Conference (NCLC) should this heightened threat level remain in place. There is some speculation that the threat level may be lowered in the near future -- but, as you probably understand, these decisions are made at a very high level of government and changes are not announced in advance. We hope everyone enjoys a productive time when visiting Washington, D.C., and we look forward to one of the most successful NCLC meetings ever. 4. LEGISLATIVE BRIEFS AVAILABLE ON ACA'S WEB SITE Our Government Relations department has prepared issue briefs for members of Congress dealing with a number of our legislative priorities. Included are briefs on the following: Commissioning of doctors of chiropractic in the Public Health Service; Direct Access in the VA health system; Implementing solutions for the chiropractic profession's ERISA, AHP and Managed Care concerns; ensuring expeditious and appropriate implementation of the National Health Service Corps' Chiropractic Pilot Program; improving chiropractic's position in the Medicare system; ensuring access of doctors of chiropractic in the DOD, and others. If you are attending NCLC or plan to have a meeting with a member of Congress or staff member in your district -- which we encourage you to -- these issue briefs would be good documents to provide to them. We have placed these on the ACA Web site at: <http://www.acatoday.com/hot_topics/>. Simply scroll down to "2003 Issue Briefs" and select the individual files. 5. ACA, TEXAS BACK INSTITUTE FEATURED IN DALLAS MORNING NEWS ACA media relations staff arranged an interview with the Dallas Morning News that resulted in a positive story about the growing mainstream acceptance of chiropractic care. The article, which ran in the Sunday, February 16, issue of the Dallas Morning News, featured ACA National Spokesperson Jerome Mcs, DC, and a doctor of chiropractic from the Texas Back Institute. The Dallas Morning News' Sunday edition has a circulation of nearly 800,000. 6. 5th CLAIMS SOLUTIONS WORKGROUP SCHEDULED For the fifth time since 1999, national insurance leaders are coming to Washington, DC, to meet with ACA leadership to solve billing and reimbursement issues. Past meetings centered on developing policy around fraud and abuse, clinical documentation and medical review practices including coding and reimbursement. These insurance giants, including Allstate, State Farm, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Aetna, GEICO, and others will convene on March 5, 2003 just prior to ACA's National Chiropractic Legislative Conference. For the first time, two insurance trade associations that represent over two thousand insurance companies -- the National Association of Independent Insurers and the Health Insurance Association of America -- will send officials. The purpose of the meeting is to develop a "Chiropractic Claim Adjuster Education Program," designed to place significant chiropractic information in front of hundreds of thousands of line adjusters and other claims handlers such as nurses and fraud specialists. Insurers have requested this type of entry-level orientation, and agree it should be a mandatory part of every adjuster's training. In addition, chiropractic experts Conway, DC, and McClelland, DC, will discuss patient case management and the chiropractic model of health care as advanced educational concepts. This forum, known as the Claim Solutions Work Group, is the product of the ACA Insurance and Managed Care Committee, chaired by Gentile, DC, ACA Delegate to Florida. 7. EVP ADVISORY COMMITTEE CONFERENCE CALL On January 23rd, we held our monthly conference call with the executive directors and leadership from various state associations. The call included a report from ACA legal counsel R. Daly, Esq., regarding ACA's recent visit with the Federal Trade Commission to discuss a possible fee survey; an update on Medicare legislation and NCLC; and recent communication with OMB regarding an expanded chiropractic benefit within their Blue Cross/Blue Shield plan. The next meeting of the committee is scheduled for February 27th. Let me know if your state association would like to be informed about these calls. They do provide an opportunity to interact with ACA staff, including legal counsel. 8. COCSA TO LEND ITS EXPERIENCE TO NCLC The Congress of Chiropractic State Associations (COCSA) has agreed to put on the successful "State Association Roundtable" at ACA's National Chiropractic Legislative Conference on the morning of Saturday, March 8. If you are a state association leader you will not want to miss this opportunity to share experiences and hear from others a different approach to dealing with the common problems that we are all confronting. The Saturday program will include discussions on HIPAA Compliance, Hospital Privileges, and chiropractic in the military. 9. BUSH SIGNS LEGISLATION THAT INCLUDES MEDICARE PAYMENT PROVISION The President did sign H.J.Res 2 that included a provision providing a legislative fix to the medicare payment problem, canceling out the anticipated March 1, 4.4% payment reduction for medicare providers. CBO estimates that the fix will result in a modest 1.6% increase for medicare providers. 10.A CLOSING COMMENT ABOUT PARKER FROM THE SACA PRESIDENT AT PALMER WEST COLLEGE Like 8,000 others, Cohen, a student at Palmer West and President of Palmer West's SACA chapter, attended the recent Seminars in Las Vegas. was so impressed with the signs of unity he observed at the program that he decided to write down his observations. It should make you proud to be an ACA member. It gives me confidence about the future of the chiropractic profession: Dear SACA Members and Others, This weekend I was reminded of how proud I am to be involved with the ACA as the president of Palmer West's SACA chapter. I grew up in a chiropractic family, so I have always known how important and powerful chiropractic is (which is what made me want to be a DC). Yet I never understood why there was so much fragmentation within the profession. I was given various reasons for the division, including differences between the subluxation-based, the straight, and mixers, the history, the idea that "we are all just individuals, and that's why people become chiropractors." But the most reasonable and convincing explanation that I've encountered is the egos. So I always felt I had to work towards unifying the profession. On Saturday at , I got to see something that truly touched me - a bold step towards unity. Around 11:00 am, all of the leaders of the major chiropractic organizations (ACA, ICA, WCA, etc.) stood together in unity and asked for everyone to contribute to the National Chiropractic Legal Action Fund (NCLAF). They stated that this was a step towards uniting the profession. Yet it was taken to another level when ACA President Dr. Daryl Wills addressed the thousands of chiropractors in the audience a few hours later. He excitedly announced that $500,000 had been raised for the NCLAF. Then he shocked me -- and many others in the audience -- as we momentarily felt the ego stripped from the profession as Dr. Wills announced that it is his goal, along with the ACA's, to reach chiropractic unity. We knew he was serious about this when he offered to step down as President of the ACA in order to form a new United Chiropractic Association. He went on to say that it was time for unity and he was willing to do whatever it took to get there. That was heartwarming to me because it showed his love for the profession was greater then any ego. That is the true sign of a leader! Thank you Dr. Wills and the ACA. We all know that with unity we can have an exponentially stronger and more effective profession. Soon maybe others will follow Dr. Wills' lead and realize that we are part of something bigger than each of us -- a grand profession that spreads health. Just wanted to fill the people who weren't there. It was a wonderful moment for the ACA and the profession! Great seeing some of you, and for those of you who couldn't make it, I look forward to seeing you in March at NCLC. Sincerely, Cohen 11. 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 <http://www.adobe.com/>. If you need further assistance viewing anything referred to in this report, please e-mail me at gcuneo@... <mailto:gcuneo@...>. ************************ This message is being sent to you as a courtesy by the executive vice president of the American Chiropractic Association. If you wish to be removed from this list, simply send a message to kpark@... <mailto:kpark@...> with a subject of: "REMOVE - EVP Report." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 11, 2003 Report Share Posted March 11, 2003 ACA EVP Weekly Report Memorandum ACA Members, Board of Governors, House of Delegates, and Other Interested parties From: Cuneo Re: ACA EVP Weekly Report Date: March 10, 2003 The following items are covered in this week's report: 1. NCLC A GREAT SUCCESS 2. TWO CABINET MEMBERS MAKE SIGNIFICANT COMMENTS AT NCLC 3. INTERESTED IN TREATING VETERANS? 4. MAJOR CARRIERS MEET WITH ACA OFFICIALS 5. ABC CODES COULD BE TROUBLE 6. NATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH WEEK 7. WESTERN STATES APPOINTS NEW PRESIDENT 8. ACA RECEIVES INITIAL GUIDANCE FROM FTC ON MANAGED CARE FEE COLLECTION 9. SPRINGWALL MATTRESSES: ACA'S LONGEST-STANDING ENDORSEE 10. CAN'T ACCESS THESE LINKS? 1. NCLC A GREAT SUCCESS With 415 registered doctors and students, plus appearances from two cabinet secretaries and numerous members of Congress, last week was one of the best National Chiropractic Legislative Conferences we've ever had. Additionally, we made a lot of noise on Capitol Hill, with the students alone making over 535 congressional visits. And to top it all off, we also raised over $320,000 for the National Chiropractic Legal Action Fund. 2. TWO CABINET MEMBERS MAKE SIGNIFICANT COMMENTS AT NCLC In a real tribute to the strength of the profession and of the ACA, two members of President Bush's cabinet attended and participated in last week's National Chiropractic Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. On Thursday morning, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Principi, the man responsible for implementing the chiropractic benefit into the VA health care system, addressed the crowd of nearly 400 doctors and students. Without making any promises, he started off by acknowledging the problems of the past as they relate to his department's treatment of the chiropractic profession, and by pledging a new relationship. While he acknowledged the deep-seated hatred toward the profession that still exists among many of the medical doctors in his department, he announced that he would seriously consider the recommendations of the Chiropractic Advisory Committee. He didn't shy away from addressing controversial issues, such as the makeup of the committee. While it's too early to make a final judgment on the guy, he does appear to be a straight-forward person who will make an honest attempt to be fair. Previously, Secretary Principi served on Senator Thurmond's staff, working under our very own Duke Short. In the evening, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy attended our legislative reception and spoke to our doctors and students. Always a crowd pleaser, he talked about the importance of preventive health care and the important role played by this profession in this area. Congressional members from both parties commented to our doctors on how impressed they were that we were able to attract two cabinet-level representatives to our conference. Perception is everything, and this was a really big deal within the beltway. We videotaped both presentations and should have them available for viewing on our Web site shortly. 3. INTERESTED IN TREATING VETERANS? Consider these facts: The Department of Veterans Affairs has an annual budget of $64 billion dollars and a 300,000-patient waiting list. That's right, 300,000 veterans who are waiting to be approved for a doctor. Think you might be able to find time for them in your schedule? In addition to remarks by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Drs. Rick Mc and Vaughn, members of the Chiropractic VA Advisory Committee, discussed the current status of the committee activities and in particular what a doctor should do if he or she is interested in treating veterans. Current law has chiropractic listed as a veteran's benefit, but until the Veterans Committee completes its recommendations and the VA Secretary deals with the issue of access, you can only get reimbursed for treating a veteran when referred by an authorized medical practitioner. If you get a referral but you don't get reimbursed, please be sure to send us the denial. We will want to keep a record of this. The VA committee will be addressing a number of important issues from scope of practice, privileges in a VA hospital to the all-important issue of access. The recommendations will go to the VA Secretary. While our doctors won't have access to the VA hospitals until these recommendations are finalized, it is recommended that you go ahead and get your resume on file with the local hospital. It would also be a good idea to contact your local veterans groups and get them involved in contacting their local member of Congress about the chiropractic benefit. Here is some background information that might be helpful: http://www.acatoday.com/government/va/special_message.shtml 4. MAJOR CARRIERS MEET WITH ACA OFFICIALS In conjunction with NCLC, representatives from 14 major insurance carriers met with ACA representatives at the 5th Claims Solutions Workgroup sponsored by the ACA. Included from the insurance side were senior-level representatives from the following companies: · AAA · American Family Insurance · National Association of Independent Insurers, · ERIE Insurance Group · Blue Cross Blue Shield Association · Health Insurance Association of America · MetLife Auto and Home · State Farm Insurance · Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield · Aetna · Harleysville Insurance Company · Geico · AIG The purpose of this meeting was to discuss recommendations from a subcommittee of doctors and insurance companies that put together educational material on chiropractic for claims adjusters. The education topics covered include: chiropractic education, licensure, terminology, techniques, coding, clinical documentation, scope of practice and billing. The first draft needed some tweaking but is close to being accepted by both parties. Needless to say, a comprehensive educational piece that is accepted by major carriers will go a long way toward resolving many of the problems that our doctors have with claims adjusters. 5. ABC CODES COULD BE TROUBLE ABC codes are being tested in a small demonstration project in Pennsylvania with one or two health plans. These codes, not currently endorsed by insurers or the AMA CPT process, were developed by HealthLink Alternative and are intended for use by alternative and complementary providers and nursing staff to describe their services. Contrary to information supplied by an outside coding source, the ABC codes are not intended to replace CPT codes for CMT and other services performed by DCs, and in some cases can severely limit the use and reimbursement of physician-level services such as E/M codes by doctors of chiropractic. The ACA Coding and Reimbursement Committee met with officials of HealthLink Alternative in 2002 and maintains an open dialog to monitor the ABC code progress and the potential impact on the chiropractic profession. The ACA Board of Governors adopted a statement reflecting the above that can be found on our Web site at http://www.acatoday.com/insurance/coding/coding_abc.shtml We will continue to update you on events as information develops. 6. NATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH WEEK Dr. Rand Baird, who is an active member of the American Public Health Association (APHA) informed us that the National Public Health Week, sponsored by the APHA and endorsed by federal and state governments, will be April 7-13, 2003. The focus this year is obesity among Americans, and the theme is "Getting in Shape for the Future: Healthy Eating and Active Living." This obviously fits nicely with the chiropractic model of health. A special toolkit on obesity is available at the APHA Web site: www.apha.org/nphw <http://www.apha.org/nphw> 7. WESTERN STATES APPOINTS NEW PRESIDENT I am informed that ph Brimhall, DC, has accepted the position of President of Western States Chiropractic College. Dr. Brimhall will assume the position filled for the past 17 years by Dr. H. Dallas, who will retire as WSCC President this June. Dr. Brimhall will begin his tenure at Western States on May 1, 2003, and assume full responsibility as WSCC President on July 1, allowing for a transition between the new and the outgoing president. 8. ACA RECEIVES INITIAL GUIDANCE FROM FTC ON MANAGED CARE FEE COLLECTION As I have reported previously, the ACA has been working with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to explore ways in which the ACA could collect and disseminate information, including fee information, concerning the activities of managed care organizations servicing the chiropractic community. This is part of our effort to respond to the directive of the ACA Hose of Delegates instructing ACA staff to take a closer look at the activities of these organizations. We recently received from the FTC a copy of an opinion letter issued on February 6, 2003. The letter deals with the proposed arrangement of a group of medical doctors in Dayton, Ohio, who propose to collect information, including reimbursement info, from managed care organizations in the Dayton area in order to better inform the public on the meager reimbursement levels and other objectionable practices provided by these companies. It obviously closely parallels what we are trying to achieve. Significantly, the letter finds that collecting reimbursement information, as opposed to doctor fee information, does not pose antitrust problems if done correctly, although the letter notes that such collection falls outside of the antitrust safety zones. We will discuss this letter in more detail with the FTC and study its implications for our profession. 9. SPRINGWALL MATTRESSES: ACA'S LONGEST-STANDING ENDORSEE Last week, NCLC participants and ACA leadership had an opportunity to visit with a representative of ACA's longest-standing endorsed relationship-Springwall mattresses. For over 30 years, the ACA has worked with Springwall as the company has supplied quality mattresses and bedding to individuals in search of a good night's sleep. Through this relationship, the ACA's logo has served as a symbol of superior craftsmanship and comfort. Join me in thanking Springwall for their commitment to chiropractic. For additional product information, please call 888-572-5505 or log on to www.springwall.com <http://www.springwall.com>. 10. 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 <http://www.adobe.com/>. If you need further assistance viewing anything referred to in this report, please e-mail me at gcuneo@... <mailto:gcuneo@...>. ************************ This message is being sent to you as a courtesy by the executive vice president of the American Chiropractic Association. If you wish to be removed from this list, simply send a message to kpark@... <mailto:kpark@...> with a subject of: "REMOVE - EVP Report." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 12, 2003 Report Share Posted March 12, 2003 ACA EVP Weekly Report Memorandum ACA Members, Board of Governors, House of Delegates, and Other Interested parties From: Cuneo Re: ACA EVP Weekly Report Date: March 10, 2003 The following items are covered in this week's report: 1. NCLC A GREAT SUCCESS 2. TWO CABINET MEMBERS MAKE SIGNIFICANT COMMENTS AT NCLC 3. INTERESTED IN TREATING VETERANS? 4. MAJOR CARRIERS MEET WITH ACA OFFICIALS 5. ABC CODES COULD BE TROUBLE 6. NATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH WEEK 7. WESTERN STATES APPOINTS NEW PRESIDENT 8. ACA RECEIVES INITIAL GUIDANCE FROM FTC ON MANAGED CARE FEE COLLECTION 9. SPRINGWALL MATTRESSES: ACA'S LONGEST-STANDING ENDORSEE 10. CAN'T ACCESS THESE LINKS? 1. NCLC A GREAT SUCCESS With 415 registered doctors and students, plus appearances from two cabinet secretaries and numerous members of Congress, last week was one of the best National Chiropractic Legislative Conferences we've ever had. Additionally, we made a lot of noise on Capitol Hill, with the students alone making over 535 congressional visits. And to top it all off, we also raised over $320,000 for the National Chiropractic Legal Action Fund. 2. TWO CABINET MEMBERS MAKE SIGNIFICANT COMMENTS AT NCLC In a real tribute to the strength of the profession and of the ACA, two members of President Bush's cabinet attended and participated in last week's National Chiropractic Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. On Thursday morning, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Principi, the man responsible for implementing the chiropractic benefit into the VA health care system, addressed the crowd of nearly 400 doctors and students. Without making any promises, he started off by acknowledging the problems of the past as they relate to his department's treatment of the chiropractic profession, and by pledging a new relationship. While he acknowledged the deep-seated hatred toward the profession that still exists among many of the medical doctors in his department, he announced that he would seriously consider the recommendations of the Chiropractic Advisory Committee. He didn't shy away from addressing controversial issues, such as the makeup of the committee. While it's too early to make a final judgment on the guy, he does appear to be a straight-forward person who will make an honest attempt to be fair. Previously, Secretary Principi served on Senator Thurmond's staff, working under our very own Duke Short. In the evening, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy attended our legislative reception and spoke to our doctors and students. Always a crowd pleaser, he talked about the importance of preventive health care and the important role played by this profession in this area. Congressional members from both parties commented to our doctors on how impressed they were that we were able to attract two cabinet-level representatives to our conference. Perception is everything, and this was a really big deal within the beltway. We videotaped both presentations and should have them available for viewing on our Web site shortly. 3. INTERESTED IN TREATING VETERANS? Consider these facts: The Department of Veterans Affairs has an annual budget of $64 billion dollars and a 300,000-patient waiting list. That's right, 300,000 veterans who are waiting to be approved for a doctor. Think you might be able to find time for them in your schedule? In addition to remarks by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Drs. Rick Mc and Vaughn, members of the Chiropractic VA Advisory Committee, discussed the current status of the committee activities and in particular what a doctor should do if he or she is interested in treating veterans. Current law has chiropractic listed as a veteran's benefit, but until the Veterans Committee completes its recommendations and the VA Secretary deals with the issue of access, you can only get reimbursed for treating a veteran when referred by an authorized medical practitioner. If you get a referral but you don't get reimbursed, please be sure to send us the denial. We will want to keep a record of this. The VA committee will be addressing a number of important issues from scope of practice, privileges in a VA hospital to the all-important issue of access. The recommendations will go to the VA Secretary. While our doctors won't have access to the VA hospitals until these recommendations are finalized, it is recommended that you go ahead and get your resume on file with the local hospital. It would also be a good idea to contact your local veterans groups and get them involved in contacting their local member of Congress about the chiropractic benefit. Here is some background information that might be helpful: http://www.acatoday.com/government/va/special_message.shtml 4. MAJOR CARRIERS MEET WITH ACA OFFICIALS In conjunction with NCLC, representatives from 14 major insurance carriers met with ACA representatives at the 5th Claims Solutions Workgroup sponsored by the ACA. Included from the insurance side were senior-level representatives from the following companies: · AAA · American Family Insurance · National Association of Independent Insurers, · ERIE Insurance Group · Blue Cross Blue Shield Association · Health Insurance Association of America · MetLife Auto and Home · State Farm Insurance · Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield · Aetna · Harleysville Insurance Company · Geico · AIG The purpose of this meeting was to discuss recommendations from a subcommittee of doctors and insurance companies that put together educational material on chiropractic for claims adjusters. The education topics covered include: chiropractic education, licensure, terminology, techniques, coding, clinical documentation, scope of practice and billing. The first draft needed some tweaking but is close to being accepted by both parties. Needless to say, a comprehensive educational piece that is accepted by major carriers will go a long way toward resolving many of the problems that our doctors have with claims adjusters. 5. ABC CODES COULD BE TROUBLE ABC codes are being tested in a small demonstration project in Pennsylvania with one or two health plans. These codes, not currently endorsed by insurers or the AMA CPT process, were developed by HealthLink Alternative and are intended for use by alternative and complementary providers and nursing staff to describe their services. Contrary to information supplied by an outside coding source, the ABC codes are not intended to replace CPT codes for CMT and other services performed by DCs, and in some cases can severely limit the use and reimbursement of physician-level services such as E/M codes by doctors of chiropractic. The ACA Coding and Reimbursement Committee met with officials of HealthLink Alternative in 2002 and maintains an open dialog to monitor the ABC code progress and the potential impact on the chiropractic profession. The ACA Board of Governors adopted a statement reflecting the above that can be found on our Web site at http://www.acatoday.com/insurance/coding/coding_abc.shtml We will continue to update you on events as information develops. 6. NATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH WEEK Dr. Rand Baird, who is an active member of the American Public Health Association (APHA) informed us that the National Public Health Week, sponsored by the APHA and endorsed by federal and state governments, will be April 7-13, 2003. The focus this year is obesity among Americans, and the theme is "Getting in Shape for the Future: Healthy Eating and Active Living." This obviously fits nicely with the chiropractic model of health. A special toolkit on obesity is available at the APHA Web site: www.apha.org/nphw <http://www.apha.org/nphw> 7. WESTERN STATES APPOINTS NEW PRESIDENT I am informed that ph Brimhall, DC, has accepted the position of President of Western States Chiropractic College. Dr. Brimhall will assume the position filled for the past 17 years by Dr. H. Dallas, who will retire as WSCC President this June. Dr. Brimhall will begin his tenure at Western States on May 1, 2003, and assume full responsibility as WSCC President on July 1, allowing for a transition between the new and the outgoing president. 8. ACA RECEIVES INITIAL GUIDANCE FROM FTC ON MANAGED CARE FEE COLLECTION As I have reported previously, the ACA has been working with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to explore ways in which the ACA could collect and disseminate information, including fee information, concerning the activities of managed care organizations servicing the chiropractic community. This is part of our effort to respond to the directive of the ACA Hose of Delegates instructing ACA staff to take a closer look at the activities of these organizations. We recently received from the FTC a copy of an opinion letter issued on February 6, 2003. The letter deals with the proposed arrangement of a group of medical doctors in Dayton, Ohio, who propose to collect information, including reimbursement info, from managed care organizations in the Dayton area in order to better inform the public on the meager reimbursement levels and other objectionable practices provided by these companies. It obviously closely parallels what we are trying to achieve. Significantly, the letter finds that collecting reimbursement information, as opposed to doctor fee information, does not pose antitrust problems if done correctly, although the letter notes that such collection falls outside of the antitrust safety zones. We will discuss this letter in more detail with the FTC and study its implications for our profession. 9. SPRINGWALL MATTRESSES: ACA'S LONGEST-STANDING ENDORSEE Last week, NCLC participants and ACA leadership had an opportunity to visit with a representative of ACA's longest-standing endorsed relationship-Springwall mattresses. For over 30 years, the ACA has worked with Springwall as the company has supplied quality mattresses and bedding to individuals in search of a good night's sleep. Through this relationship, the ACA's logo has served as a symbol of superior craftsmanship and comfort. Join me in thanking Springwall for their commitment to chiropractic. For additional product information, please call 888-572-5505 or log on to www.springwall.com <http://www.springwall.com>. 10. 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 <http://www.adobe.com/>. If you need further assistance viewing anything referred to in this report, please e-mail me at gcuneo@... <mailto:gcuneo@...>. ************************ This message is being sent to you as a courtesy by the executive vice president of the American Chiropractic Association. If you wish to be removed from this list, simply send a message to kpark@... <mailto:kpark@...> with a subject of: "REMOVE - EVP Report." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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