October 2004

Bill reactivates DoD chiropractic panel

A bill directing the establishment of a chiropractic healthcare benefits advisory committee has been passed by the House and Senate and is waiting President Bush’s signature.

The bill directs the Secretary of the Defense to establish an oversight advisory committee to “provide advice and recommendations regarding the continued development and implementation of an effective program of chiropractic healthcare benefits for members of the uniformed services on active duty.”

The committee will meet at least three times a year, beginning in fiscal year 2005. It will be composed of experts in chiropractic healthcare, including at least three practicing representatives of the chiropractic profession and a representative of each of the uniformed services.

The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) and the Association of Chiropractic Colleges (ACC) backed this legislation.

“Congress is once again telling the Pentagon to move faster to provide the chiropractic care America’s troops want, need and deserve,” said David O’Bryon, ACC executive director.

The Defense Department’s first chiropractic advisory panel was shutdown in 2002. It will be reconstituted and newly charged with providing guidance and recommendations to the Secretary of Defense and to Congress on implementation of the congressionally-mandated chiropractic care benefit for active-duty U.S. military personnel. Currently, doctors of chiropractic provide care at 42 military health facilities.

Over the past decade, Congress has approved seven legislative directives dealing with the integration of chiropractic care into the military healthcare system, including a permanent chiropractic care benefit for all active duty service personnel to be phased in over a five-year period (PL 106-398). As part of the FY ‘04 Defense Authorization Act (PL 108-136), Congress instructed the Pentagon to accelerate the implementation of the chiropractic benefit for active duty personnel.

Source: American Chiropractic Association, www.acatoday.com

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