April 2007

Washington bill would increase patient access to DCs

Washington state legislators have passed a bill that wouldimprove patient access to chiropractors. The bill now goes to the governor for consideration.

The bill, SB 5597, would allow patients to receive chiropractic care in a clinic, where they are already established patients, when their current doctor is unavailable.

State Sen. Rosa Franklin, D-Tacoma, wrote in a guest column in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer online (SeattlePI.com) that, under current law, insurance coverage is only paid when a patient sees his or her primary care doctor. Consequently, if that doctor is not available, the patient cannot see another physician in the same clinic.

The bill would legally rectify this discrepancy. The bill states that if a patient’s regular chiropractor has a contract under a health-insurance plan, another chiropractor employed at the same clinic would be allowed to provide the same services under the same insurance plan as long as the second chiropractor meets the plan’s qualifications.

Franklin emphasized in the op-ed piece that the legislation does not increase benefits, but would allow patients to get the benefits they are paying for.

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