The American Chiropractic Association, as promised, has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court to block the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) from implementing Medicare Part C regulations that would effectively make chiropractic an outsider. (Please see "Chiropractic on the Medicare Chopping Block" DC, Nov. 2, 1998).
Medicare Part C is a managed care model that will offer manual manipulation done by MDs, osteopaths and PTs as a substitute to spinal manipulation to correct subluxations by chiropractors. Clearly, the ACA sees Medicare Part C as disastrous for chiropractic in the Medicare program, but there is the larger concern that Medicare Part C will serve as the model for private-sector insurance and health plans.
The Medicare Part C regulations go into effect January 1, 1999.
A second part of the ACA lawsuit is to file a writ of mandamus, which is an injunction to compel an agency to carry out an assigned duty. The assigned duty in this case is a report that the Congress "ordered" Health and Human Services to conduct in 1990 on the use of chiropractic services in HMOs. The report has never been delivered, a good indication that HCFA never gathered the information as mandated.
"We have now exhausted every administrative and legislative avenue and have no choice but to take legal action against the federal government," said ACA President Michael Pedigo, DC.
ACA General Counsel George McAndrews, who headed the Wilk suit, is again leading the chiropractic battle.
When sports chiropractors first appeared at the Olympic Games in the 1980s, it was alongside individual athletes who had experienced the benefits of chiropractic care in their training and recovery processes at home. Fast forward to Paris 2024, where chiropractic care was available in the polyclinic for all athletes, and the attitude has now evolved to recognize that “every athlete deserves access to sports chiropractic."
It is estimated that 61% of patients with CTS avoid taking surgical options due to postoperative complications and costly surgical procedures. Chiropractic care offers a comprehensive and effective treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome, addressing the condition from multiple angles. Recent studies also have unveiled a game-changing adjunct to chiropractic treatments for CTS: nerve flossing.
Some doctors thrive in a personality-based clinic and have a loyal following no matter what services or equipment they offer, but for most chiropractic offices who are trying to grow and expand, new equipment purchases help us stay relevant and continue to service our client base in the best, most up-to-date manner possible. So, regarding equipment purchasing: should you lease, get a bank loan, or pay cash?
