On November 12th, 1998, the American Chiropractic Association filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the Department of Health and Human Services. (See "Chiropractic on the Medicare Chopping Block?" DC, Nov. 2, 1998 and "ACA Files Lawsuit against HCFA" DC Dec. 14, 1998). The suit was filed as an effort to block impending Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) regulations governing Medicare Part C programs.
The HCFA was established in 1977 under Health and Human Services with the responsibility of administering the nation's Medicare and Medicaid programs. On July 27th, 1998, HCFA preliminarily began implementing regulations which could have a deleterious effect on the chiropractic profession and the Medicare patients chiropractors treat. The ACA took legal action in an effort to force HCFA to adopt policies that will guarantee enrollees in Medicare/managed care programs access to chiropractic.
The ACA complaint, which was filed in the District of Columbia, is now available on line at chiroweb.com, the website of Dynamic Chiropractic. Users can access and print a complete electronic version of the complaint at www.chiroweb.com/special/acacomplaint.html.
For more information on the ACA's lawsuit against the federal government, contact the ACA at (703) 276-8800 or (800) 986-4636.
Recent laws in New Jersey and California represent a disturbing trend that will negatively impact a practice’s ability to collect monies from patients, as well as expose them to significant penalties if the practice does not follow the mandatory guidelines to a T. Please be aware that a similar law may be coming to your state. The time to act is before the law is passed.
With estimates showing over 30 million Americans affected by peripheral neuropathy – and a significant portion underdiagnosed – it’s increasingly likely that chiropractors are already treating these patients. What’s missing is structured recognition, comprehensive management and targeted tools to slow progression, improve function and support systemic health.
Each year, ICD-10-CM is updated on Oct. 1. For 2026, there are 74,179 total codes, with 487 additions, 28 deletions and 38 revisions. Code changes are based on date of service, not the claim submission date. Services performed on/after Oct. 1 must use the new codes. While no changes affect the common spinal or extraspinal codes most frequently used by DCs, several updates may still affect your claims – particularly for comorbidities, referred pain, or trauma cases.
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