House Medicare Legislation Achieves Another Major Milestone
Dynamic Chiropractic Staff
| DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE
With the Chiropractic Medicare Coverage Modernization Act now enjoying 150 co-sponsors – an impressive 58 more than co-sponsored similar legislation introduced in 2019, the chiropractic profession and Medicare patients have much to look forward to as 2023 approaches.
Even if H.R. 2654 fails to reach a House vote by the end of the 2021-22 session, it can be reintroduced next year with confidence that an unprecedented number of congressional members support modernizing chiropractic coverage within Medicare to allow DCs to provide (and be reimbursed for) all services within their scope of practice.
That support can translate into not only repeat co-sponsorship of 2023 legislation if and when introduced, but also increase the likelihood more congressional members will sign on as the buzz surrounding it grows.
It stands to reason that the more individual congressional members understand and appreciate the value of enhanced chiropractic coverage in Medicare, the more they will share that support with colleagues who may be "on the fence" or lack adequate information to cast a yes vote.
"There is no better example of support for a bill than a House or Senate member agreeing to cosponsor it," said John Falardeau, American Chiropractic Association (ACA) senior vice president of public policy and advocacy. "The road to passage is arduous, but the ability of our Medicare legislation to generate a high cosponsor count from one congressional session to the next signals to House leadership that this is an issue meriting action. Simply put, the more cosponsors a bill has, the greater the likelihood of its success."
Editor's Note: An identical bill was introduced in the Senate in April 2022 (S.B. 4042) and has five co-sponsors. Both pieces of legislation would "Amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide Medicare coverage for all physicians' services furnished by doctors of chiropractic within the scope of their license, and for other purposes," rather than only the current limitation of only "manual manipulation of the spine to correct a subluxation."
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