ACA Keeps Busy at 44th Annual Meeting

Amid the continuing flux of the health care landscape, the American Chiropractic Association held its 44^th annual House of Delegates meeting in Washington, D.C., to gauge the organization's progress on current initiatives and set long-term goals for the year ahead. In addition to tackling chiropractic inclusion in the Medicare program, the possibility of national health care reform and parity for the profession in private insurance plans, the House of Delegates also elected new officers and approved a variety of policies and position statements. The ACA also sponsored a Chiropractic Summit where representatives of leading chiropractic organizations met to discuss serious issues of concern and develop a plan of action to find solutions to these "top-level" issues.

"We have won difficult legislative battles," said Immediate Past-President Dr. Richard Brassard. "We have expanded our presence in VA hospitals. We have aggressively addressed coding issues and established a Coding Resource Center on the association's Web site. The list of all that has had a positive effect on the profession since I first took office is too long to elaborate now. You have all had a role in these accomplishments and are well aware of the tremendous effort behind them."

Newly elected president, Dr. Glenn Manceaux, said, "It's time for doctors of chiropractic to be positioned to offer full scope services to every American regardless of their job or health care coverage. It's time for us to proclaim that chiropractic is safe and cost effective for musculoskeletal problems, but that we offer much more as well. We can educate patients about posture, exercise, nutrition and we know that many other conditions respond to chiropractic care. We need to find research dollars to validate this."

He continued, "We cannot quit. Not as long as Medicare recipients cannot have full scope chiropractic coverage. Not until every veteran can see a chiropractor. Not until chiropractic is included in every current and federal state insurance plan and not until every chiropractic service is reimbursed with the same parity as every other provider."

Several new officers were elected to various leadership positions within the ACA. Dr. John Gentile was elected chairman of the board of governors, succeeding outgoing chairman Dr. Lewis Bazakos, who stepped down after many years of service to the House of Delegates. Also, Dr. Rick McMichael was elected vice president and third member of the executive committee. Other 2007-2008 officers include:

• Dr. Keith Overland, Connecticut delegate, president of the Council of Delegates;
• Dr. Anthony Hamm, North Carolina delegate, vice president of the Council of Delegates;
• Dr. David Herd, Upstate New York delegate, secretary of the Council of Delegates;
• Dr. Michael Simone, Colorado delegate, Council of Delegates representative to the ACA Finance Committee;
• Dr. William Pfeifer, Governor of District 1;
• Dr. F. Dow Bates, Governor of District 2;
• Dr. Mario Spoto, Governor of District 3;
• Dr. Robert Mastronardi, Governor of District 4;
• Dr. Jerry Gerrard, Governor of District 6; and
• Dr. David Madison, Governor of District 7.

Dr. Basakos offered the following advice to the new ACA leadership: "The obstacles continue to be ever present and the wolf remains at the door. We must position ourselves to address the coming changes in health care with Medicare reform and national health care on the horizon. Crisis changes people and turns ordinary people into wiser or more responsible ones. We must be wiser and more responsible to preserve our profession, not only for our patients but for future generations to come."

"I realize the tasks before us are great, but then so is the resolve of the ACA leadership," said Dr. Gentile. "The issues we face are many. A key focus remains access to, utilization of, and parity of reimbursement for the full scope of chiropractic services on a par with other physician-level health care providers. We will continue our efforts in fighting abusive managed care policies and insurance inequities. National health care and Medicare reform loom on the horizon and will become a top priority of the ACA. We will need to work in tandem with many other chiropractic organizations to tackle these issues, and I believe we can."

The following resolutions also were approved during the House of Delegates meeting:

• Advising doctors regarding participation with chiropractic health care discount programs;
• Directing ACA to develop a comprehensive strategy to address chiropractic inclusion in the Federal Workers Compensation system;
• Endorsing the American College of Sports Medicine's and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency's policy supporting drug-free athletic competitions; and
• Updating ACA's Code of Ethics.

Dr. Al Norville, ACA's Mississippi delegate for more than 20 years, was named Chiropractor of the Year for "his exceptional service, lifetime of achievement and unwavering commitment to the chiropractic profession." Dr. Norville was an active participant in legislative activities on both the state and national level ,and served as a longtime member of the ACA's Legislative Commission. He also was named a Fellow in the International College of Chiropractic (FICC). He currently is a member of the Mississippi Chiropractic Association and is immediate past chairman of the Mississippi Board of Chiropractic Examiners.

Dr. Reed Phillips, vice president of the Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research (FCER) and past president of Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCUHS), was named Humanitarian of the Year for his accomplishments with the Veterans Affairs Chiropractic Advisory Committee. According to the ACA, "Under his leadership, the committee developed recommendations that led to chiropractic integration into the Veterans Affairs health care system. Today, chiropractic care is available at more than 30 veterans' facilities throughout the country, providing much-needed services to thousands of our nation's heroes." Other award recipients included:

• Dr. Ritch Miller, ACA's Nebraska delegate, was named Delegate of the Year for his efforts on the Medicare Carrier Advisory Committee and his work to educate doctors nationwide on proper coding and reimbursement practices.
• Dr. Bill Meeker, president of Palmer College of Chiropractic West, was named George B. McClelland Researcher of the Year.
• Dr. James Winterstein, president of National University of Health Sciences, was named Academic of the Year.
• Dr. Tom Hyde, ACA's Florida delegate, was awarded the Drs. John Flynn-Robert Lynch Memorial Award, recognizing the "outstanding delegate who has served in the House of Dele-gates for less than five years."
• Dr. Angela Salcedo, ACA's Washington, D.C. alternate delegate, was named Alternate Delegate of the Year.

For additional information regarding the ACA's 44^th Annual Meeting or the Chiropractic Summit, visit www.amerchiro.org.