April 2007

ACA members lobby Capitol Hill

Members of the American Chiropractic Association converged on the nation’s capital March 21–22 to hear speeches from government leaders, receive advocacy education and training, and to urge elected officials to support pro-chiropractic measures. 

Key messages addressed by almost 500 DCs, students, and supporters during the American Chiropractic Association’s annual National Chiropractic Legislative Conference (NCLC) included: new opportunities for chiropractic in Medicare, as well as in the military and veterans’ healthcare systems; to enact a patient’s bill of rights; and to defend against the revival of small business health plan legislation, which could destroy important patient protections

Keynote speaker and MSNBC political anchor Tucker Carlson captivated NCLC attendees with an hour-long analysis of the changing healthcare environment and the role it will play in the 2008 presidential election.

Following Carlson’s comments were remarks by Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., who recently introduced legislation on behalf of chiropractic patients — HR 1470, the “Chiropractic Care Available to All Veterans Act.” HR 1470 would require the Veterans Administration (VA) to have a chiropractor on staff at no fewer than 75 major VA medical centers before the end of 2009, and for all major VA medical centers to have a chiropractor on staff before the end of 2011. Doctors of Chiropractic currently serve at only 30 VA sites nationwide.

In addition to comments by Filner and Ramstad, the following members of Congress also addressed the NCLC delegation: Reps. Jim Ramstad, R-Minn.; John Boehner, R-Ohio; Nick Lampson, D-Texas; and Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J.

Source: American Chiropractic Association, www.acatoday.com

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