March 2006

NY forms chiropractic legislative task force

The New York Chiropractic Council (Council) and the New York State Chiropractic Association (NYSCA) have joined forces and created a Joint Legislative Task Force.

The purpose of the task force is to create a unified approach to identifying and passing legislation that will benefit chiropractic patients and the profession. Passage of the Insurance Equality Technical Corrections Bill and the Workers’ Compensation Fee Parity Bill has been identified as the goal of both the Council and NYSCA.

The Insurance Equality Law of 1998 entitled patients to a minimum of 15 insured chiropractic visits before the carrier could request documentation supporting medical/clinical necessity, but insurance companies found ways to circumvent the intention of the bill.

The original law has now been “technically corrected” to remove any loopholes that the insurers may use. This bill is in the insurance committee currently and has plenty of interest from the legislature.

The second is the Workers Compensation Equality bill. NY chiropractors are currently paid one global fee for Evaluation and Management service 99213. Depending on a doctor’s zip code, he or she would be reimbursed approximately $30 for this code. The fee parity among providers is non-existent.

The Workers Compensation Bill asks for parity.

Source: New York Chiropractic Council, www.nycouncil.com

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