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While President Obama’s summit on health care reform took place just blocks away, chiropractic leaders from across the nation gathered in Washington, D.C. and later met with congressional leaders to stress the importance of chiropractic’s role in national health care and Medicare reform. The group convened as part of the 2010 National Chiropractic Legislative Conference (NCLC) with the Chiropractic Summit.

Nearly 600 doctors of chiropractic, students and supporters converged on the nation’s capital Feb. 24-27 to hear speeches from government leaders, receive advocacy training and urge elected officials to support pro-chiropractic measures that seek to provide patients, veterans and active-duty military personnel with direct access to the essential services provided by doctors of chiropractic. 

“I am so proud of the way the chiropractic community came together to carry our message, with one voice, to Capitol Hill for the benefit of our patients,” said ACA President Rick McMichael, DC. “We have some of the answers for America's health care challenges, and we bring a message of health and hope. The challenges are great during this period of health care reform but so are the opportunities.”

Keynote speaker and former U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt emphasized chiropractic’s role in making the country’s health care system more efficient and cost-effective. He urged attendees to talk with their legislators about chiropractic’s patient-centered practices and the preventative benefits of chiropractic care.

“It is your duty as a citizen to inform your legislators about what you do and why you’re valuable,” said Gephardt. “Keep it up, and you will prevail in the end.”

Also emphasizing the importance of chiropractic care was Ret. Brig. Gen. Becky Halstead, spokesperson for the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress, who shared her personal story. She completed two combat deployments during her 27 years in the Army and, in addition to living in austere conditions, often wore gear that added 70 to 80 pounds to her 110-pound frame. Since retiring and discovering chiropractic care to treat her debilitating chronic fibromyalgia, Gen. Halstead has become a fierce advocate for chiropractic access in the military.

“They just deserve this sort of care,” said Gen. Halstead of the men and women serving in active duty.

The Chiropractic Summit and ACA House of Delegates Meeting
Chiropractic Summit VIII took place in conjunction with NCLC on Feb. 24. Nearly 45 partners came to unanimous agreement on issues of finance, communications, government relations activity and improvement of clinical documentation.

First convened in September 2007, the Chiropractic Summit represents leadership from more than 40 organizations within the profession. With the common goal of advancing chiropractic, the Summit meets regularly to collaborate, seek solutions and support collective action to address challenges facing the profession.     

Each year NCLC is held in conjunction with an official business meeting of the ACA House of Delegates (HOD). ACA President Dr. Rick McMichael presided over both meetings and opened each with applause for the profession working together as one to address critical issues.

During the HOD meeting, ACA reaffirmed its position on informed consent. It is ACA’s position that there is no substitute for a confidential, in-person discussion between a doctor and a patient. Each patient has his or her own individual questions and circumstances that deserve individual attention.

Furthermore, the HOD approved guidelines on pre-payment arrangements that aim to educate doctors of chiropractic and to help them make informed decisions before entering into such contracts.

Additional coverage of both NCLC and the House of Delegates meeting will be available in the April 2010 issue of ACA News, the association’s flagship publication.

A selection of photographs from the four-day meeting can be found on the ACA Web site at https://www.acatoday.org/Gallery/.