May 2007

Anti-chiropractic bill introduced into House

A bill, H.R. 2260, that would discredit nonmedical professionals has been introduced into the House.

Titled “Health Care Truth and Transparency Act of 2007,” the bill would “prohibit misleading and deceptive advertising or representation in the provision of health care services, and to require the identification of the license of certain health care providers.”

The bill, introduced by Rep. John Sullivan (R-OK), states “It shall be unlawful for any person who is a licensed healthcare service provider but who is not a medical doctor or doctor of osteopathic medicine to make any deceptive or misleading statement, or engage in any deceptive or misleading act, that deceives or misleads the public or a prospective or current patient that such person is a medical doctor or doctor of osteopathic medicine or has the same or equivalent education, skills, or training.”

The bill was introduced May 10 and has been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. In a press release, Sullivan said, “It is important to note that the bill does not affect healthcare providers’ ability to truthfully and accurately describe their degrees or titles that have been conferred by academic institutions or licensing boards, nor does the bill affect the ability of any health care provider to practice in their respective fields.”

In a statement, the American Chiropractic Association (ACA), through its attorney, Tom Daley, said the bill is a redundancy of legislation, since consumers are protected by a myriad of other laws. “This provision is so broadly written that it could have a ‘chilling effect’ on the communication of accurate educational and training comparisons between medical and non-medical providers,” the statement read.

The full text of the bill is available on the Library of Congress Web site, http://thomas.loc.gov.

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