 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
Message from the President Board Members Public Relations Our Mission Our History Contact Us
Message from the President
May 2008
To all members of CSRI and non-members,
You may have heard that the semi-annual vote on the board of directors took place on Monday, May 5th. As Bob L’Europa moved into the enviable position of immediate past president, I moved into the position of president. This comes after serving 5 previous years on the board in the capacity of secretary, 2nd vice president, then 1st vice president. Kevin Donovan once again answered the call and will be 1st vice president. Sue Donahue moves into the 2nd VP position and Mark Breiding remains a rock as the treasurer. Gary Post has volunteered to take up the secretarial position. Dave Bruno remains “member at large” and Clive Brigham will continue as editor of Trigger Points. As I look forward 2 years hence, there are many issues to keep in front of us. Some we know of, ie: legislation, insurance reimbursement, marketing, member recruitment, continuing education and many that remain unforeseen. To meet these challenges it will take the work and dedication of the BOG and we will need to draw on the wisdom of those who have gone before us. And so I invite input and analysis from past presidents, board members and current general memberships in helping to guide the next 2 years of my tenure.
Often I have heard that as a society we have not been proactive. Always responding, trying to fight off reimbursement cuts and adverse legislation, not moving forward to make further gains. The more I get involved I am learning it’s as much about survival as it is about taking the hill. I can’t promise sweeping gains in the next 2 years but we will do our best to make in-roads where possible.
Another idiom I have heard again and again is “as Medicare goes, so goes the rest of insurance”. Well it is our contention that we must be an option for every government health plan available. Granted, reimbursement may not be attractive but to be included is important for considerations down the road.
I have enclosed attachments to this e-mail that exemplify the efforts of members. In particular, Dr. Dan Becker and Dr. Alan Post as well as Dr. L’Europa.
It was felt by all that Dr. L’Europa made an excellent choice with our new lobbyist, Advocacy Solutions, after a lengthy search. Subsequently, Drs Post, Becker and L’Europa met with Advocacy Solutions and brought them up to speed on the work that AMI (see attached studies) has done in Maryland and in the Medicaid program in Florida (see attachment). These studies show that when chiropractic care is included in a members plan, chiropractic was not an added expense but actually saved the program money.
As a result, Advocacy Solutions put together a meeting with several members of the Department of Human Services including Director Gary Alexander, Associate Director Frank Spinelli, Drs Becker, Post and L’Europa. Mr. Spinelli then quoted these studies while advocating for chiropractic care in a House Finance Committee meeting. Whether this has any immediate effect remains to be seen.
The point is, many dedicated doctors are working on behalf of our profession and this is but one example. Chiropractic will always require the active participation of its doctors. Although we might not get there over night, a continued sustained effort will move us forward. Think about becoming involved.
If you are a member, we thank you. If you are not, please consider joining our efforts.
Yours in good health,
Dr Andy Crellin
Andrew T. Crellin, D.C., R.P.T.
CSRI President
Chiropractic 101 Find a Doctor Calendar of Events About Us
