ACA Champions H.R. 7157; ICA Voices Major Concerns
Dynamic Chiropractic Staff
| DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE
While the American Chiropractic Association recently penned an open letter – signed by not only the ACA, but also the Congress of Chiropractic State Associations, Association of Chiropractic Colleges, Clinical Compass and a number of state associations – to Congress urging swift passage of the Chiropractic Patients' Freedom of Choice Act of 2018, the International Chiropractors Association is "urging caution" on H.R. 7157 based on the language of the bill being "incongruent with promises made." Specific ICA concerns include the following:
HR 7157 inserts a 'qualifier' which will set the entire profession up to become 'aberrant billers'. Rather than leave the "manual manipulation of the spine to correct a subluxation" intact, the language included in the statement of purpose will become part of the notes section of the law and inserts "as demonstrated to exist" as a new, unnecessary and arbitrary qualifier for compensation not required of any other physician level provider.
[HR 7157] includes a provision to limit services reimbursed by chiropractors, who are determined to be aberrant billers on a quarterly basis. In essence, the promised expansion of coverage will be eliminated for anyone the Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services (CMS) determines to be over billing. This is a provision ripe for abuse by over-zealous Medicare administrators.
All important decisions on coverage specifics, including dates and timelines, are at the discretion of CMS personnel. As written, CMS may drag out the implementation for 3-5 years.
HR 7157 also ignores the request of the chiropractic community to be treated equally in Section 1395a of the Social Security Act provision on private contracting.
In its press release, the ICA concluded: "HR 7157 provides no guarantee that any expanded compensation will be provided in the near future. As currently written the ICA does not support HR 7157 and recommends caution to the profession regarding the language in the legislation. The ICA is in the final stages of crafting legislation that is practical, feasible and has a realistic prospect of passage."
A historic meeting between chiropractic and Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) leadership took place on March 10th, 2026, in Washington, D.C., featuring representatives from chiropractic national organizations, professional associations and policy principals. The collective goal: advancing the role of chiropractic in improving the health of Americans. Meeting participants focused on long-standing issues that have affected the chiropractic profession for decades, including access to care, reimbursement parity, and ensuring DCs have an appropriate role in national health policy discussions.
Radicular-like pain of the upper and lower extremities is among the most common presentations in musculoskeletal and spine-related practice. Traditionally, these symptoms are interpreted through a disc-centric and dermatomal framework, often leading clinicians to attribute limb pain, paresthesia or perceived weakness to spinal nerve-root pathology. While this approach is appropriate in cases of true radiculopathy, it frequently falls short when symptoms fail to follow consistent dermatomal patterns or correlate poorly with imaging findings.
A 46-year-old male presented to our clinic with a seven-year history of recurrent low back pain with sciatica. He reported stiffness and discomfort that worsened with prolonged sitting both at his desk job and during evening television time. The patient had seen multiple chiropractors over the years. In every case, spinal manipulation and other passive treatments would bring gradual symptom relief over 2-3 months. However, within another 3-6 months, the symptoms would return. Frustrated – and now considering a spinal injection and possibly surgery if that failed, he came to our office seeking a different approach.
