Update: Michigan Senate passes pro-chiropractic House Bill 5956

The Michigan Senate has passed pro-chiropractic House Bill 5956, reports the Michigan Association of Chiropractors.

The Senate passed the bill on Dec. 20, after it passed in the House on Dec. 10 by a vote of 57-51, and this version will now proceed to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s desk for consideration.

Upon receipt of House Bill 5956, Governor Whitmer has 14 days to consider the bill. She can choose to sign the bill into law and file it with the Michigan Secretary of State, which would make its provisions effective immediately. Alternatively, she could veto the bill and return it to the House of Representatives with her objections noted or she could take no action.

If the governor takes no action on it, the bill would not become law, as the Michigan Legislature will have adjourned sine die (without a date set to reconvene) by the end of the 14-day consideration period. (According to Michigan law, a bill the governor does not veto or sign becomes law after 14 days if the legislature is in session or in recess.)

How Bill 5956 benefits DCs

House Bill 5956 is legislation that would codify the provider non-discrimination language of Section 2706(a) of the Affordable Care Act in Michigan law, according to a Michigan Association of Chiropractors press release.

Developed by the Michigan Association of Chiropractors and introduced by state Representative Brenda Carter (D-Pontiac), Chair of the House Health Policy and Financial Services Committee, House Bill 5956 reads:

An insurer that delivers, issues for delivery, or renews in this state a health insurance policy shall not discriminate with respect to participation under the health insurance policy against a health professional who is acting within the scope of the health professional’s license granted under article 15 of the public health code…

If passed, this legislation would benefit DCs in that insurance providers would not be allowed to base procedure coverage decisions on the type of provider rendering the service as long as the service was within the provider’s licensed scope of practice; for example, only covering a procedure if performed by an MD, paying one type of provider more than another type for the same covered service or creating unreasonably high deductibles and copays for one provider type over another. Insurers would also be prohibited from requiring credentialing for a covered service that only certain types of providers could obtain, thus barring other provider types from being able to render that service.

While the bill would prohibit discrimination based on type of provider, it would not require insurers to contract with any health professional willing to abide by that insurer’s terms and conditions for participation, and would not prevent insurers from establishing varying reimbursement rates based on quality or performance measures.

House Bill 5956’s history

House Bill 5956 has 25 co-sponsors, including: Brenda Carter (D-Pontiac), Chair, Main Sponsor; Felicia Brabec (D-Pittsfield Township); Amos O’Neal (D-Saginaw); Mai Xiong (D-Warren); Carrie Rheingans (D-Ann Arbor); Kimberly Edwards (D-Eastpointe); Julie Rogers (D-Kalamazoo); Cynthia Neely (D-Flint); Stephanie Young (D-Detroit); Jason Hoskins (D-Southfield); Laurie Pohutsky (D-Livonia); John Fitzgerald (D-Wyoming); Victoria Paiz (D-Harper Woods); Jennifer Conlin (D-Ann Arbor); Jim Haadsma (D-Battle Creek); Donavan McKinney (D-Detroit); Sharon MacDonnell (D-Troy); Mike McFall (D-Hazel Park), Majority Vice Chair; Kristian Grant (D-Grand Rapids); Jason Morgan (D-Ann Arbor); Kara Hope (D-Holt); Doug Wozniak (R-Shelby Township); Erin Byrnes (D-Dearborn); Jenn Hill (D-Marquette); Helena Scott (D-Detroit); and Abraham Aiyash (D-Hamtramck).

The bill was favorably reported by the Michigan House Insurance and Financial Services Committee by a 9-1 vote in November, so it moved to the full Michigan House of Representatives, where it passed by a vote of 57-51 on Dec. 10. The Michigan Senate passed the bill on Dec. 20.

Chiropractic Economics will keep this story updated with any new legislative developments.

For more information, visit chiromi.com.