Chiropractic Legislation Nears Approval
Due to special efforts by Senator Charles Grassley (R, Iowa), Congress is set to approve a Medicare Chiropractic Demonstration Project and a provision ensuring that beneficiaries will have access to chiropractors and other physicians.

The Medicare Chiropractic Demonstration Project will test expanded access of chiropractic services to seniors. The project is a four-site, 2-year test and will be administered by the Department of Health and Human Services. ACA expects the project to greatly impact rural and medically underserved areas.

“Senator Grassley fought hard for the principle that Medicare beneficiaries should have the freedom to choose a chiropractor to provide the care they want and need,” said George B. McClelland, DC, ACA chairman.

To challenge current Medicare limits on the chiropractic services covered for beneficiaries, the ACA backed a physician-reimbursement provision in the Medicare bill, which proposed a 4.5% physician-payment cut with 2 years of payment increases.

“This is chiropractic’s biggest win ever on Capitol Hill and we have Senator Grassely to thank for it,” said McClelland. “Senator Grassley’s chiropractic provision marks the beginning of the end of three decades of Medicare’s discrimination against chiropractors and chiropractic patients.”

The ACA also recognized the following lawmakers for their support of the Medicare Chiropractic Demonstration Project: Tom Daschle (SD), Norm Coleman (Minn), Orrin Hatch (Utah), Kent Conrad (ND), Ben Nelson (Neb), George Allen (Va), and Chuck Hagel (Neb).

The following representatives were also recognized: Virgil Goode (Va), Jim Ramstad (Minn), Earl Pomeroy (ND), Jim Nussle (Iowa), Sherwood Boehlert (NY), Clay Shaw (Fla), Phil English (Penn), J.D. Hayworth (Ariz), Leonard Boswell (Iowa), Ken Lucas (Ky), Steve Israel (NY), Bob Filner (Calif), Paul Gilmore (Ohio), Rob Portman (Ohio), Rodney Alexander (La), Sam Graves (Mo), Ed Royce (Calif), Chris Shays (Conn), Lloyd Doggett (Tex), Bill Janklow (SD), Bob Goodlatte (Va), Nancy Johnson (Conn), and Collin Peterson (Calif). CP

Study Investigates Harmful Vaccine Contents
Contrary to popular belief that vaccines are more harmful to children than helpful in preventing illness, a study in the December 2003 issue of Pediatrics states that the preservatives, additives, and other substances in vaccines pose little risk to children.

“Parents can be reassured that the trace of quantities of mercury, aluminum, and formaldehyde contained in vaccines will not harm their children,” said Paul A. Offit, MD, the study’s lead author, chief of Infectious Diseases, and director of the Vaccine Education Center at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

The authors of the study reviewed numerous scientific studies of human and animal exposures. Of the substances studied, gelatin proteins and egg proteins in vaccines were known to have harmful effects in children with allergies to gelatin or eggs. Offit recommended that physicians take extra precaution in when vaccinating children known to have allergies to gelatin or eggs.

A frequently made assumption that ethylmercury, contained in thimerosal (a compound of mercury used as a preservative in vaccines to prevent contamination by bacteria for fungi), is as harmful as methylmercury, a more toxic mercury compound found in the environment, was disproved by the authors.

“An important difference is that the body eliminates ethylmercury far more quickly than it eliminates methylmercury,” said Offit.

When looking at the effects of additives, adjuvants, and manufacturing residuals, the authors found that these substances, which exist in small amounts in vaccines, posed no significant threat to childrens’ health. Adverse reactions were rare.

“Based on the best available scientific evidence, parents can be confident that vaccines are overwhelmingly safe, as well as effective in preventing infectious diseases,” said Offit. CP

ACA Launches New Legislative Web Site
In an effort to strengthen grassroots lobbying capabilities, the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) launched a new website, www.acatoday.com, which will serve as the ACA’s Legislative Action Center.

The website will feature the latest information on key health policy issues being considered by Congress and allow for instant contact with elected officials through emails to garner support for chiropractic issues.

“ACA’s new Legislative Action Center makes our elected officials in Washington more accessible to us and more accountable for their votes on chiropractic issues,” said Donald Krippendorf, DC, president of the ACA.

In addition to information, the website features numerous legislative resources, such as a take-action center to write directly to congressmen/women, ACA campaign alerts, and a find-your-representative database. The site also monitors the congressional floor schedule.

“ACA members have led the way to victory after victory for chiropractic on Capitol Hill,” said George McClelland, DC, ACA chairman. “Safeguarding physician status for chiropractors and adding chiropractic benefits to the Department of Defense and veterans health care systems are just the beginning. ACA’s new Legislative Action Center means chiropractors, students, and patients can be more involved, more active, and even more effective lobbyists for quality health care in America.” CP

IACOHC Offers Educational Program
The International Academ y of Chiropractic Occupational Health Consultants (IACOHC) introduced a new tool for chiropractors to educate employers about workplace wellness.

The program, titled “Impacting Quality by Integrating Dynamic Dimensional Wellness,” is a PowerPoint presentation, which covers the chiropractic approach to prevent workplace injuries and illnesses. The presentation was designed to help chiropractors, who provide occupational health services to their local employees, explain the benefits of chiropractic in improving organization, productivity, and quality or products and services.

Established in 1983, the IACOHC is a nonprofit organization, which aims to advance chiropractic by providing occupational health services. CP

Creed Hosts Foot Levelers Seminar
As the newest speaker in Foot Levelers’, Roanoke, Va, License Renewal Series, Alan Creed, DC, will presenting information on how to blend techniques, styles, and technology in chiropractic procedures.

“Our speakers bureau is lucky to have such an energetic and dynamic speaker,” said William Austin, DC, director of education at Foot Levelers. “When we saw the hands-on practicality of his seminars, we knew he was a good choice for us. His seminars give real-world advice on making things easier and more efficient for both chiropractors and patients.”

Creed uses hands-on demonstrates to show how to blend styles, technology, and techniques to create postural changes and improve range of motion, and finally communicate the changes to the cerebellum. According to Creed, this maximizes function and decreases pain, even when working with multiple sclerosis, severe disc degeneration, scoliosis, and pre- and post-back surgery.

“My technique demonstrates a comprehensive relationship between foundational, structural, and proprioceptive components,” said Creed. “I’m excited to share this viewpoint through Foot Levelers’ speakers bureau.”

For more than three years, Creed has presented CEU-approved seminars throughout the United States. He has lectured in Europe and the former Soviet Union, and is a visiting professor at the Scandinavian College of Chiropractic in Stockholm, Sweden.

Creed is a board-eligible chiropractic neurologist, and an adjunct professor for postgraduate studies of spinal biomechanics and neurophysiology with Texas College Chiropractic, Pasadena, Tex. He runs a private cash practice in Key Biscayne, Fla. CP

Improper Backpack Use Causes Back Pain
According a report by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, backpack-related injuries have increased up to 360% since 1996. The report was released soon after Spine published a study in which 74% of 1,122 students said they experience back pain within the previous month.

“These studies confirm the need for educational programs that will deliver the guidelines for proper backpack use to parents, students, and school administrators,” said Marvin Arnsdorff, DC, cofounder of Backpack Safety America™. “Back pain leads to more than 19 million doctor visits per year, according to the US Department of Human Health and Services. What will that figure be when the ‘Backpack Generation’ are in their 30s and 40s?”

Arnsdorff recommends the following tips from Backpack Safety America for chiropractors to offer their patients: Choose right—the proper size backpack should be 75% of the length of a person’s back; Pack right—the maximum weight of a loaded backpack should not exceed 15% of a person’s body weight; Lift right—when lifting a backpack, users should face the pack, bend at the knees, check the weight of the pack using both hands, lift with the legs, and apply one shoulder at a time; Wear right—backpacks should be worn with both shoulder straps at all times. CP

Chiropractors Rank Third in Payment Error Rate
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released data on improper payment rates showing that chiropractors faced an 11.3% error rate. Physical therapists had the highest error rate at 18.2%.

The overall payment error rate was 5.8% in 2003, down from 13.8% in 1996. The findings suggest that chiropractors and physical therapists will be under higher scrutiny of their billing process.

“Now that CMS has detailed error rates, we can aggressively target our efforts by strengthening the management of our contractors and concentrating on the problems indicated by the error rate,” said CMS administrator Tom Scully. “Our goal is to bring about a dramatic reduction in the Medicare payment errors in the next 24 months.”

Urologists, ambulance services, and podiatrists were the provider types with the fewest errors at 5.3%, 4.7%, 4% respectively. The data includes provider-specific, contractor-specific, and service type-specific error rates. CP

Suh Receives Recognition for Chiropractic Research
In recognition of his contributions to chiropractic research, Chung-Ha Suh, a retired University of Colorado scientist, was presented with a spine etched in glass from a computer model at the Tenth Annual Vertebral Subluxation Research Conference, which is sponsored by Sherman College of Straight Chiropractic, Spartanburg, SC. Suh was one of the first researchers to develop computer-graphics model of the spine.

“Suh was the first scientist to ever look at chiropractic in a serious and unbiased way,” said Harley Gilthvedt, DC, a member of the Board of Trustees of Palmer College of Chiropractic. “That took a lot of courage and integrity. Suh played an important role in the original research that showed that nerve compression alters function and chemistry of the nerve, refuting the argument of the day that chiropractic was based on a myth.”

Suh began his research in the late 1960s and early 1970s when he worked as a professor of mechanical engineering and an expert in biomechanics and x-ray analysis. He teamed up with Allen Messer, DC, to work on a project, which aimed to measure the effects of chiropractic care and study the related neurophysiology and spinal kinematics.

Suh and his team of engineers and scientists developed two important theories of how the chiropractic subluxation could affect human health. They noted the difficulty that researchers within and outside of the chiropractic profession might have in attaining recognition.

Suh’s group was the first to receive federal funding for chiropractic research when they were given $250,000 from the National Institutes of Health. The American Chiropractic Association and the International Chiropractors Association provided yearly grants to Suh’s research.

Suh’s research is looked at as some of chiropractic’s first and most complex research.

“That research reached a high level of sophistication in testing chiropractic hypotheses in the area of spinal kinematics, neurophysiology, and clinical assessment methods before there were any well-developed research programs in the chiropractic colleges,” said Owens. CP