The National Chiropractic Legislative Conference (NCLC) was held in Washington, DC on March 5-6. The mornings were spent listening to speeches on chiropractic by congressional representatives as well as presentations by the staff and officers of the American Chiropractic Association (ACA). During the afternoon, attending DCs and students visited their senators and representatives in an effort to share the concerns of the chiropractic profession, particularly as it pertained to the PARCA bill.
PARCA is an acronym for the Patient Access to Responsible Care Act. The PARCA bill was introduced into Congress by Representative Charles Norwood (R-GA) and Senator Alfonse D'Amato (R-NY). While PARCA provides patients with many important benefits and protections, it would mandate that all employees have access to a health care plan with a point-of-service (POS) option and prohibit discrimination of providers "solely based on their license." PARCA currently enjoys over 220 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives.
Among those who spoke at the NCLC, several made very interesting comments:
Congressman Charles Norwood (who is also a dentist): "I remember when it was a doctor-patient relationship. I have touched patients. I have taken an ethics course. "PARCA is about accountability and choice. The American people will make right choices about their health care if they can understand and have a choice."
House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt (D-MO): "In improving healthcare, we don't want to get to the point where we have a bureaucrat making decisions based on the bottom line. It is time in America to return decisions back to the patient and provider and not (be) made by Wallstreet."
Congressman John Dingell (D-MI): "You (chiropractors) have made life better and bearable for millions of people. You have improved their quality of life. People should have the ability to get to you."
Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA): "We've got to open up health care for the American people today, because the cartel that controls healthcare is driving this country into bankruptcy."
