Your CSRI Representatives Met your Washington, DC Legislators

On Thursday, February 26, 2009, Drs. Bridgham, Donovan and Donahue met with our Washington legislators to discuss national chiropractic issues. Our major focus was implementation of already passed legislation concerning the military both active and veterans. Congress over the last 20 years has enacted a series of laws to ensure that all active duty military personnel are provided with access to chiropractic services. Most recently in 2000, Congress enacted into law, Public Law 106-398 a permanent chiropractic care benefit for active duty military personnel.   Despite these laws, only 49 military treatment facilities, MTF’s, out of the 238 facilities worldwide offer chiropractic services. A Rhode Island soldier would have to travel to Bethesda Maryland or Fort Drum New York near Watertown to receive chiropractic care. There are no overseas facilities providing chiropractic care. This disparity between the requirements of the law and the reality is due to the Department of Defense, DOD, not following the law. The DOD has administratively set discriminatory arbitrary limits on the number of MTF’s that provide chiropractic services. In the 2009 fiscal year Defense Authorization Act the DOD was directed to increase the number of MTFs offering chiropractic services from 49 to 60, no later than September 30^th, 2009.

We spoke with our legislators to insure that in the 2010 fiscal year Defense Authorization Act that provisions be included to end this discriminatory practice and make the DoD comply with the law and make chiropractic health care benefits available to the 1.8 million active duty personnel at each military treatment facility both here in the United States and overseas.  Additionally we requested that the DOD follow through concerning the law to commission Chiropractic physicians as uniformed officers in the military. We requested that Senator Jack Reed, who is on the Senate Armed Services Committee, support us in these issues. He asked, at our meeting, that his legislative aide, Kate Mevis work with us to ensure that these provisions are implemented. We shall continue to follow through with Senator Reed. 

There is currently a bill sponsored by Rep. Mike Rogers’ of Alabama to make chiropractic services available to all TRICARE beneficiaries, HR 484. TRICARE provides healthcare to military retirees, dependents, and survivor beneficiaries.  We requested that Congressman Langevin who is on the House Armed Services Committee co-sponsor this bill. He requested that his legislative aide, Todd Adams, work with us on this issue.

Our military veterans have also faced discrimination. Despite a series of statutes including Public Law 108-170 and 107-135 that specifically included directives to hire chiropractic physicians and place them at Veterans Administration hospitals, inaction prevailed until recently. Theoretically a chiropractic benefit has been available within the VA system for many years. Only 32 major VA hospitals provide chiropractic service through hired or contracted staff. What is needed is legislation to extend the VA’s chiropractic care program to all major VA medical facilities. House VA Committee Chairman Bob Filner has introduced HR 1017 to expand the number of chiropractic physicians in the VA system, We are working with Congressman Langevin and Kennedy to become co-sponsors of this bill.

Congressman Kennedy and Senator Whitehouse were unable to meet with us. We did spend considerable time with their legislative aides discussing these issues. They do work closely with Senator Reed’s and Congressman Langevin’s staff. Congressman Kennedy’s aide, Daniel Murphy, was interested in our role in health care reform.

The final topic of discussion was the expansion of Medicare services provided by chiropractic physicians. We are all waiting for the analysis of the demonstration project which is overdue. This study should support our role as primary care providers with a broad scope of practice in the Medicare system.

We three still have a great deal of follow through work to keep these issues alive with our legislators. Senator Reed and Congressman Langevin are supportive and I believe Senator Whitehouse and Congressman Kennedy will also lend their support.

We are a small voice when you consider each legislator has from 3 to 5 legislative aides who 5 days per week meet with 6 to 8 groups per day. The LA’s must distill all of that information and then report back to their legislator.

Thank you for your support.

Clive W. Bridgham, DC, DACBSP

CSRI National Legislative Committee