6-17-03

MEDICARE REFORM LEGISLATION INCLUDES CHIROPRACTIC PROVISION



Despite threatened 'killer' amendments put forth by the Senate 
Majority

Leader and the normal concerns of a Congressional Budget Office 
score, a

significant pro-chiropractic provision was included in the 
bipartisan

Medicare reform bill that passed the Senate Finance Committee on 
Thursday

evening.  The provision would authorize a three-year demonstration 
project

in six sites throughout the United States in an effort to yield 
accurate

data reflecting the health benefits and cost effectiveness of 
chiropractic

care.  The Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human 
Services

(HHS) would be authorized to develop the project with specific 
input from

the chiropractic profession.  



The demonstration project in the Department of Defense (DoD) 
paved the way

for the permanent benefit in the DoD.  We believe this particular 
project

will have the same effect on our ability to get paid for everything 
we do,

as we will no longer have to face the inflated figures of the 
Congressional

Budget Office, but instead will have good statistics on our cost

effectiveness.



This action culminated from years of work by the ACA, many state

associations, students and doctors attempting to expand our 
coverage under

Medicare.  The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Senator 
Charles

Grassley (R-IA), had promised the Iowa Chiropractic Society as 
well as ACA's

lobbyists that he would include the provision in his bill -- and he 
did.

  

The day before the committee hearing, Senate Majority Leader and 
medical

doctor Bill Frist (R-TN) contacted Senator Grassley and asked him 
to drop

our chiropractic provision from the bill.  Additionally, Senator 
Frist

notified Senator Grassley that if he would not drop the provision, 
Senator

Frist would introduce two amendments that would essentially 'kill' 
the

chiropractic provision.  The first amendment would delete the 
chiropractic

demonstration project.  If that amendment were unsuccessful, he 
would

introduce a motion requiring that osteopaths and other providers 
would

participate in developing the demonstration project.  I think we all 
know

what that would mean.



Despite these pressures, Senator Grassley refused budge, and 
instead asked

Senator Frist to back off.  It was quite impressive in itself, for a

Republican committee chairman to ask his majority leader -- also 
a

republican -- to back off.  Frist was unresponsive, however, and up 
until

the vote the following day, we remained concerned that he would 
still

introduce motion.  At ACA's request, a number of senators asked 
Frist to

back off as well, including Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Norm Coleman (R-
MN), Chuck

Hagel (R-NE), and a number of democratic senators.  Frist remained 
silent as

the vote took place.   



This thing has a long way to go.  The Medicare bill itself is not a

certainty to pass the full senate, despite its bipartisan support.  
But

while our provision could still be sabotaged on the senate floor, we 
believe

we can discourage Senator Frist by maintaining our grassroots 
efforts.  As

for the House side, we have been working with Congresswoman 
Nancy Johnson

(R-CT) and others to ensure the same provision appears in the 
House Medicare

bill.  And while we face similar obstacles in the House, on this day 
we

successfully took on the Senate Majority Leader.  We really have 
come a long

way.