January 2006

11 Air Force bases required to provide chiropractic

The American Chiropractic Association is providing additional information on the story “Congress passes pro-chiropractic legislation,” which ran on www.chiroeco.com last week.

As part of the Fiscal Year 2006 Department of Defense (DoD) authorization bill, Congress included language to require the U.S. Air Force to complete implementation of chiropractic services at 11 sites that had not yet opened in accordance with a 5-year-old Pentagon plan to make chiropractic care available to active duty members of the military.

Specifically, the bill calls on the Secretary of the Air Force to ensure that chiropractic healthcare services are available at 11 facilities previously slated to offer chiropractic care but that have not opened a clinic or made the benefit available on base.

If the Air Force determines it is unnecessary or unfeasible to provide chiropractic healthcare services at any identified facility, the Air Force will provide chiropractic services at an alternative site located off base. The Air Force is given until Sept. 30, 2006, to complete implementation at these 11 locations:

The Air Force language contained in the bill, if signed by the President, would increase the number of military bases with a chiropractor from 42 to 53.

To read the September 2005 GAO report on chiropractic in the military, visit: www.acatoday.com/pdf/GAO_DODchiro.pdf.

To read ACA’s response to the September 2005 report, and for other ACA actions regarding expanding chiropractic care in the military, visit: www.acatoday.com/government/dod/.

Source: ACA Today, www.acatoday.com