Managed Care, Vaccination, and Supportive Care Resolutions Highlight ACA Annual Meeting

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- American Chiropractic Association leaders and doctors of chiropractic ventured just north of the U.S. border to hold their North American Educational Symposium, June 17-20.

The symposium was held in conjunction with ACA's annual business meeting, wherein the ACA House of Delegates approved a budget, considered the status of the association's long-range plan, and ratified a number of policy decisions.

Resolutions Adopted

• The devastating impact of gatekeepers on the public's access to chiropractic care under managed care prompted passing a resolution to embark on a program of research that can statistically support the effectiveness of chiropractic in an unfettered managed care environment. This information would be used to pursue direct access to patients and to educate health professionals, legislators, employers, payors and the general public of the immense impact of gatekeepers on the public's ability to access doctors of chiropractic. The resolution further resolves to involve all affected parties and to unite for direct access.


• There was a resolution to modify the ACA's position on vaccination. The resolution supports freedom of choice based on "informed awareness of the benefits and possible adverse effects of vaccination." The ACA supports an individual's freedom of choice regarding compulsory vaccination laws.


• There was a resolution to encourage the Council of Chiropractic Education, chiropractic colleges, and the states "to require a four-year baccalaureate degree from an accredited four-year college prior to admission to a chiropractic college by the year 2002."


• The ACA went on record in favor of supportive chiropractic care. A resolution was passed to recognize the findings of the Mercy Guidelines on supportive chiropractic care, i.e., that where necessary, it is an appropriate part of proper patient care.


• The ACA passed a resolution to "opposes any attempt to impose artificial educational requirements beyond those established by colleges accredited by the Council on Chiropractic Education andï provider in any managed care or third-party payor plan. Such artificial educational requirements serve as an improper restraint on the ability of a licensed doctor of chiropractic to freely practice his profession."


• While acknowledging the need for malpractice liability insurance, a resolution was passed to call on managed care organizations to justify to doctors of chiropractic their required levels of insurance. This resolution was in response to member concerns over the burdensome cost of managed-care required coverage.


• The House of Delegates called for an ongoing effort to educate those in managed care to the benefits, both physical and financial, of chiropractic. The education effort should include development of strategies and data that, when used in conjunction with grassroots outreach, will "ensure direct access as a universal managed care model."

Election of Officers

These ACA officers were re-elected:

President: Dr. Michael Pedigo (San Leandro, California)

Vice President: Dr. James Mertz (Albuquerque, New Mexico)

Chairman, Board of Governors and Governor (District 2): Dr. Edward Maurer, (Kalamazoo, Michigan)

Governor (District 4): Dr. Robert Lynch (South Portland, Maine)

President, ACA Council of Delegates: Dr. Daryl Wills (Gering, Nebraska)

Vice President, Council of Delegates: Dr. Donald Krippendorf (St. Petersburg, Florida)

Secretary, Council of Delegates: Dr. Linda Zange (Glenview, Illinois)

Elected to Board of Governors

• Dr. Jerilynn Kaibel (San Bernardino, California), succeeds Dr. Lowry Morton as Governor of District 7. Her election gives her the distinction of being the ACA's first female district governor.


• Dr. James Edwards (Emporia, Kansas), succeeds Dr. Harold Kieffer as Governor of District 6.

The House of Delegates elected Dr. Walter Fowler (Columbus, Georgia), to the Board of Trustees of the Foundation for Georgia Delegate.

Board of Governors Bids Farewell to Drs. Morton and Kieffer

• Dr. Lowry Morton completed his distinguished nine-year term on the Board this year, three years during which he served as chairman.


• Dr. Harold Kieffer stepped down following 17 years of distinguished service on the Board, two years of which were as chairman.

Medicare Part C

The ACA's annual meeting also included a panel discussion on the negative impact proposed Medicare Part C regulations could have on the future of the chiropractic profession. Included on the panel with ACA leaders and staff was ACA General Counsel George McAndrews, who compared the magnitude of the Medicare Part C issue with the landmark Wilk case, for which he served as the lead attorney.

According to the panel, the proposed regulations do not properly reflect and assure the inclusion of chiropractic services under Medicare Part C. Also, the Quality Improvement System for Managed Care (that is being used as a basis for part C) would allow health care providers other than doctors of chiropractic to perform "chiropractic services." ACA has launched a lobbying campaign to clarify the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 that created Medicare Part C.

Dr. Lowry Morton -- Advancing Chiropractic at the National, State and County Levels

Dr. Lowry Morton received the association's highest honor, "Chiropractor of the Year." Dr. Morton, ACA's Chairman of the Board from 1994 to 1997, is a 1961 graduate of Los Angeles College of Chiropractic who has been in practice in Anaheim, California for more than 30 years.

On the national level, Dr. Morton was the ACA's Southern California delegate (1979-1989), and served as governor (District 7) for nine years. Dr. Morton stepped down from the Board this year.

In 1989, Dr. Morton was presented with ACA's "Presidential" award, and was honored in 1992 with the ACA's Council on Technique's "Distinguished Service" award.

He has also been active with the California Chiropractic Association (CCA). He was president of the CCA (1977-1978), and chairman of its Insurance and Industrial Relations Department (1986-1988). He was awarded CCA's "Presidential" award in 1988. At the regional level, Dr. Morton was the president of the Orange County Chiropractic Society (OCCS) from 1973 to 1974. He was honored three times as the society's "Doctor of the Year," and was presented with the "Distinguished Service" award (1976, 1981 and 1987), and the "Presidential" award (1982, 1985 and 1987).

"Humanitarian of the Year"

George McAndrews is the senior partner in the 25-lawyer Chicago law firm of McAndrews, Held & Malloy, Ltd., and general counsel for the ACA. For more than 30 years, George McAndrews has devoted his practice to trial of patent, trademark, franchise, antitrust and product liability suits. Hailing from a family of chiropractors, Mr. McAndrews is most recognized for representing the chiropractor plaintiffs in the landmark Wilk et al. v. AMA et al. anti-trust lawsuit.

Mr. McAndrews' background includes a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering degree (with honors) from the University of Notre Dame in 1959, and a juris doctor degree from the University of Notre Dame Law School in 1962. He served as editor-in-chief of the Notre Dame Law Review and later as a law clerk to the Honorable Luther Swygert, circuit judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He is a veteran of the United States Navy.

"Delegate of the Year"

Dr. Linda Zange, ACA's "Delegate of the Year," practices in Illinois. She is a 1970 graduate of the National College of Chiropractic, a diplomate of the American Chiropractic Board of Orthopedics, and a Fellow of the International College of Chiropractors.

Dr. Zange has been a member of the ACA since 1971, and has served as the Northern Illinois delegate since 1983. She serves as the secretary of the ACA Council of Delegates, and chairman of the ethics and the papers review committees. Dr. Zange serves the Illinois Chiropractic Society as co-chair of the ACA committee, and chairman of the CME committee. A member of the Chicago Chiropractic Society, she also served chiropractic's future doctors as an instructor at National College of Chiropractic for 11 years.