COVID-19 Relief Legislation for Doctors of Chiropractic?
Editorial Staff
| DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE
Looking for a lifeline to help guide your practice through the coronavirus crisis? While numerous pieces of legislation are making their way through Congress, one of the most significant for health care providers, particularly rural doctors of chiropractic, is the Immediate Relief for Rural Facilities and Providers Act of 2020, introduced by Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) on March 24.
The legislation applies both to health care providers and hospitals / ambulatory surgery centers / outpatient facilities. The stipulations specific to providers would "provide funding to provide immediate relief and stabilization for physicians' and health care providers' practices ... to prepare and respond to the COVID-19 emergency." [Emphasis added]
According to a press release on Sen. Barrasso's website, S. 3559 would:
Provide Stabilization and Relief for Providers with an emergency, one-time grant for all providers and ambulatory surgery centers equal to their total payroll from January 1 - April 1, 2019.
Provide Funding for Physicians and Providers by authorizing the Small Business Administration to provide low interest loans to providers and ambulatory surgery centers at a 0.25% interest rate that will not accrue until two years after the COVID-19 pandemic has ended.
Chiropractors are included in the definition of physician in section 5 1861(r) of the Social Security Act, making DCs eligible for provisions in the legislation.
"Like small business owners across the country, chiropractors are facing financial challenges that could lead to very difficult decisions down the road," said ACA President Robert C. Jones, DC, in an association press release urging all DCs to contact members of Congress immediately regarding the importance of passing the act. "This relief package offers many a real chance to make it through this crisis and continue to serve their communities."
Click here to monitor status and learn more about S. 3559, which includes specifics on grant / loan qualifications, appropriate fund use and repayment stipulations.
Because they have yet to pass national legislation protecting the chiropractic profession, Japanese DCs are in a similar situation that U.S. DCs faced. We were fortunate enough to be able to pass chiropractic licensure state by state. The DCs in Japan must accomplish this nationally, which has proved to be an extremely difficult task. And in spite of their efforts, Japanese DCs are currently faced with two chiropractic professions.
Part 2 of this three-part article on recogizing and diagnosing delayed-onset motor-vehicle acident (MVA) injuries in clinical practice discusses traumatic Schmorl's nodes, post-concussion syndrome and posttraummatic syrinx. Part 1 covered traumatic subdural hematoma, stroke due to MVA and traumatic central disc herniation.
Research now shows that limited hip internal rotation can significantly contribute to low back pain. This may be caused by hip joint variants, but more commonly by trauma causing adhesion of the hip joint capsule or even prolonged sitting, which overactivates the hip flexors and abductors, and underactivates the hip extensors and adductors.
