State Farm Agrees to Review Chiropractic Claims Practices

State Farm officials have agreed to meet with state chiropractic associations to hear questions and complaints about the insurance company's handling of chiropractic claims. The announcement comes in the wake of two in-depth meetings with the American Chiropractic Association (ACA).

State Farm and ACA first met following a recent Dateline NBC investigation into alleged improper claims handling procedures by State Farm. Dateline's investigation painted State Farm in a negative light, focusing on problems incurred by some of the company's insureds who submitted medical injury claims resulting from auto accidents. T he report showed unscrupulous actions by medical review companies employed by auto insurers that targeted certain providers and denied care for patient injuries related to the accident.

According to ACA, State Farm officials said in their meetings that they believe Dateline unfairly portrayed the company's normal claim handling business practices, but they do agree more corporate oversight is needed in the medical review area. ACA officials agree and support State Farm's recent initiatives to better monitor the fairness and objectivity of the medical review process.

State Farm has also approached ACA about participating in a cervical injury research project, which has yet to unfold, ACA said. "As important as it is to handle claims fairly, it's also crucial to learn how to prevent, treat and heal cervical neck injuries," said Dr. James A. Mertz, ACA president.

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