The 2021 Q1 Lobbying Report filed by the American Chiropractic Association(ACA) revealed that one of its specific lobbying issues is "urging HHS (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) to consider doctors of chiropractic to administer COVID-19 vaccines." Per the report, the ACA's total spending for lobbying (all endeavors) during the period was only $65,875.1
The effort by the ACA may seem odd given the long list of providers (as well as students studying to be those providers) already recommended by the Department of Health and Human Services to administer the vaccine:2 dentists; emergency medical technicians; midwives; nurses; optometrists; paramedics; pharmacists, pharmacy interns and pharmacy technicians; physicians and physician assistants; podiatrists; respiratory therapists; and veterinarians.
When asked why the ACA was investing its scarce lobbying dollars on the inclusion of DCs as recommended providers to administer the COVID vaccine, a spokesperson for the organization commented:
"From the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the [ACA] has reached out to the federal government to make it clear that the chiropractic profession, one of the largest portal-of-entry healthcare groups in the country, is willing and qualified to provide assistance to a healthcare system being stretched to its limit. As a result of ACA's efforts, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in March 2020 included doctors of chiropractic on its listing of the essential critical infrastructure workforce.
"One year later in March 2021, when the Department of Health and Human Services was working to rapidly provide vaccines to the public by expanding its list of healthcare professionals qualified to provide vaccination services, ACA wrote to HHS to point out that DCs meet the criteria put forward and should therefore be included. During this health crisis, ACA supports inclusion of doctors of chiropractic in public health efforts to meet the special needs of communities nationwide."
All of the above begs the obvious question: Should doctors of chiropractic administer COVID vaccinations? To better understand the answer, Dynamic Chiropractic is surveying the profession. Doctors of chiropractic and chiropractic students are encouraged to cast their vote today by visiting dynamicchiropractic.com/covidsurvey.*
The survey window will be open until Nov. 20, 2021. Final voting results, along with a representative selection of comments made by voters, will be published in our January 2022 issue.
*We announced the availability of this survey in a breaking news email distributed in late September. If you have already cast your vote on this issue, we thank you for your participation. You cannot vote more than once.
References
Recent laws in New Jersey and California represent a disturbing trend that will negatively impact a practice’s ability to collect monies from patients, as well as expose them to significant penalties if the practice does not follow the mandatory guidelines to a T. Please be aware that a similar law may be coming to your state. The time to act is before the law is passed.
With estimates showing over 30 million Americans affected by peripheral neuropathy – and a significant portion underdiagnosed – it’s increasingly likely that chiropractors are already treating these patients. What’s missing is structured recognition, comprehensive management and targeted tools to slow progression, improve function and support systemic health.
Each year, ICD-10-CM is updated on Oct. 1. For 2026, there are 74,179 total codes, with 487 additions, 28 deletions and 38 revisions. Code changes are based on date of service, not the claim submission date. Services performed on/after Oct. 1 must use the new codes. While no changes affect the common spinal or extraspinal codes most frequently used by DCs, several updates may still affect your claims – particularly for comorbidities, referred pain, or trauma cases.
| Digital Exclusive