Is your state association attorney a member of the NACA? Did your state association send its attorney to the annual NACA meeting?
The National Association of Chiropractic Attorneys (NACA) is an association of attorneys who represent chiropractic associations, societies and colleges. The NACA was organized over twenty years ago by chiropractic associations' lawyers desiring a network of communication. The NACA now has members representing associations from 35 states, The American Chiropractic Association, The International Chiropractic Association and chiropractic colleges.
The NACA is apolitical and meets without regard to any philosophical position. Any political position is "left at home" and put aside when the lawyers attend NACA meetings or confer.
The NACA meets twice each year, once in November for the main business meeting and once in conjunction with the ACA/ICA annual legislative conference in Washington, D.C. Throughout the rest of the year the attorneys share information to keep current with what is happening in the other states, share important judicial decisions and help each other address questions of importance to chiropractic. The NACA members participate on a voluntary basis to learn how to better represent the chiropractic associations and chiropractic patients. In other words, the purpose of the NACA is to learn the "soup to nuts" about how to better represent chiropractic.
Each state chiropractic association and college is encouraged to have its lawyer join. One of the best investments a state association can make is paying for its attorney to attend the NACA meetings.
Chiropractic attorneys become better advocates for chiropractic by learning from other lawyers with information to share. Participation in the NACA helps the members become better advocates for chiropractic.
The NACA contributes to the Foundation on Chiropractic Education and Research to encourage development of more scientific data supporting chiropractic principles. Other contributions include support for the "Wilk suit" that has done more to help chiropractic recognition than any single other legal action. These contributions demonstrate a genuine concern for the chiropractic profession that each of the NACA members advocates.
The 1989 NACA meeting was held in San Diego and was attended by lawyers representing 22 state associations the ACA, the ICA and Life Chiropractic College in Los Angeles. Topics of discussion ranged from addressing discriminatory insurance practices, to informed consent, to HMOs, to a newly filed suit that promises to take the "Wilk" decision to its next step! Also attending was the editor of the Dynamic Chiropractic who announced a regular column to be printed each month, authored by NACA members as an effort to better share information. The column will serve as a sounding board for new arguments, ideas and concepts. Recent judicial decisions of nation-wide import will be analyzed by the lawyers involved. Thanks to Dynamic Chiropractic, NACA members will have a "bulletin board" to exchange information with each other and other lawyers and doctors. The NACA is very appreciative for this progressive opportunity.
The next NACA meeting will be the mid-year meeting held in conjunction with the ACA/ICA National Chiropractic Legislative Conference on May 9-10 at the Hyatt Regency in Washington, D.C. The annual NACA business meeting will be in San Antonio in November, 1990.
For more information about joining the NACA or attending the meetings, contact any of the following officers: President Paul Watson Lambert at (904) 942-7181; or Vice-President Michael J. Schroeder at (714) 955-1050; or Secretary/Treasurer Robert L. Hirtle at (203) 278-7840.
Doctors, ask if your association lawyer is a NACA member and, if not, urge him or her to join now and participate. Doctors, ask if your state association is sending its attorney to the next NACA meeting.
Look at this column next month for more about what is happening in chiropractic law.
When I graduated from chiropractic college in 1981 and started practice, I heard it all, and very little was positive. “You are a quack; you do not know what a subluxation is; you couldn’t get into a real health care program, so you chose the one that is slightly above a mail-order degree; you have no proof that chiropractic works; Are you really licensed?”, and so much more.
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