March 2003

ACA unveils 2003 legislative agenda

Looking to build on momentum gained from an array of historic legislative victories, the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) has released its legislative agenda for 2003. In addition to working out details and implementation plans for recently passed legislation concerning chiropractic integration into the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Health Service Corps, the ACA plans to tackle several less-resolved issues.

The largest of the issues is the passage of Medicare legislation based on House Resolution 902, which was introduced in the 107th Congress by then-Representative Wes Watkins (R-OK) at ACA's request. The legislation would allow doctors of chiropractic to be reimbursed for any existing Medicare-covered service that he or she is licensed to provide under state law.

ACA's legislative efforts will be buoyed this year with the help of veteran hill staffer and doctor of chiropractic Duke Short, DC, who has agreed to join ACA's legislative team as a special legislative consultant. Short brings more than two decades of Capitol Hill experience to the table, with many of those years spent as a senior advisor to the United States Senate Judiciary Committee. Serving most recently as Senator Strom Thurmond's (R-SC) chief of staff, Short has been instrumental in helping the ACA achieve legislative victories for the chiropractic profession in the past.

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