President Bush finally put pen to paper on the night of Jan. 23 to pass H.R. 3447, the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Programs Enhancement Act of 2001, a bill that includes a mandate to establish a permanent chiropractic benefit within the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) health care system.
The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) hailed the passage of the bill (now designated as Public Law 107-135) as "an enormous triumph for the profession, but also proof of the powerful role chiropractic plays on Capitol Hill and in the nation's health care system."
"This profession has been fighting to make this law a reality for 65 years," exulted ACA Chairman James Edwards, DC. "It is just tremendous to finally see it happen."
The law authorizes the hiring of doctors of chiropractic in the DVA health system, sets a broad scope of chiropractic practice, and allows the chiropractic profession to oversee the development and implementation of the new benefit through an advisory committee, composed, in part, of chiropractors.
The ACA plans to hold a "VA Forum" on March 6 from 4-5 p.m. at this year's National Chiropractic Legislative Conference, held annually in Washington, D.C. This forum will provide up-to-date information and pertinent details on the new law.
"The passage of this historic law represents an enormous victory for America's veterans, who will now have access to the chiropractic care they have been denied for far too long," said ACA President Daryl Wills,DC. "But this tremendous win is also a sweet victory for the chiropractic profession, because we prevailed after our opponents tried to beat us down at every turn. This legislation survived the attacks of the American Physical Therapy Association, the VA bureaucracy and other medical organizations - and it did so with strong bi-partisan support."
Dr. Edwards gave special recognition to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle's efforts to ensure the bill's passage. Strong bi-partisan support also came from House Veterans Committee Chairman Chris Smith (R-NJ); Congressmen Jerry Moran (R-KS), Lane Evans (D-IL) and Bob Filner (D-CA); Senator Strom Thurmond (R-SC); and Senator Tim Hutchinson (R-AR). Governor Bob Wise of West Virginia was also instrumental in lobbying for support of the legislation.
Dr. Edwards emphasized the support and efforts of the Association of Chiropractic Colleges (ACC), the International Chiropractors Association (ICA), and the World Chiropractic Alliance (WCA) in this victory.
Key provisions of the new law include:
Many relevant diagnostic signs are not performed deliberately by the examiner or by the patient at the examiner’s direction. They are observed as the patient reacts to their condition. Fortin’s finger sign, Minor’s sign, and Vanzetti’s sign are three examples of this principle.
On Feb. 1, 2024, two more legislators – John R. Carter (R-Texas) and Robert “Bob” Good (R-Va.) – co-sponsored the Chiropractic Medicare Coverage Modernization Act of 2023, bringing the co-sponsor total to 155, two more than the total achieved over the entire two-year congressional cycle in which identical legislation last appeared (2021-22).
While working at the Lovelace Medical Center in Albuquerque, N.M., one of the primary care physicians stated that imaging every patient prior to receiving chiropractic was not medically necessary. It was at that point I reconsidered the need for the imaging of every patient to avoid malpractice.
