On June 6, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) introduced S. 1147, the Chiropractic Care Available to All Veterans Act of 2011, legislation that mandates chiropractic care be available to veterans at all VA medical centers no later than Dec. 31, 2014. The Senate-initiated legislation is the second VA access provision to be introduced in Congress this year; in February, Rep. Robert Filner (D-Calif.) introduced H.R. 329 in the House. H.R. 329 bears an essentially identical title and mandate – the Chiropractic Available to All Veterans Act, also requiring that chiropractic care be available at all VA medical centers by Dec. 31, 2014.
Specifically, S. 1147 "would amend the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Programs Enhancement Act of 2001 and title 38, United States Code, to require the provision of chiropractic care and services to veterans at all Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers and to expand access to such care and services, and for other purposes. ... The program shall be carried out at not fewer than 75 medical centers by not later than December 31, 2012, and at all medical centers by not later than December 31, 2014." Again, this language is essentially the same as that offered in H.R. 329.
With legislation in both the House and Senate to expand chiropractic availability within the VA, what will Congress do? For the past several years, similar legislation has failed to reach the president's desk. According to John Falardeau, vice president of government relations for the American Chiropractic Association, without congressional directive, further expansion will be on a case-by-case basis and will experience significant delays.
S. 1147 is currently under review by the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs; H.R. 329 is in the House Subcommitttee on Health.
