Arlington, Va. – On day two of National Public Health Week (NPHW) 2015, the public health community will shine a light on local, state and regional disparities by discussing the role of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) in addressing inequalities in access to healthcare, while discussing what more is needed to achieve health equity across communities. In observance of the campaign’s April 7 theme “Starting from Zip,” the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) is drawing attention to the language intended to protect a patient’s choice of provider included in the PPACA as essential to quality patient care and genuine reform.
“Disparities in health are due to multiple and complex issues, including language barriers and cultural preferences,” said ACA President Anthony Hamm, DC. “This can also include the ability of a patient to choose the type of care and provider for a particular condition he or she may have. Services provided by doctors of chiropractic are a model of care commonly sought out by millions of patients each year and access to this care is preserved by Section 2706(a) of the PPACA.”
A key dimension to Section 2706(a) is patient access to covered services from licensed doctors of chiropractic, practitioners of acupuncture and Oriental medicine, naturopathic physicians, massage therapists, and to home births via non-nurse, certified professional midwives. ACA works on an on-going basis to ensure the proper enforcement and aggressive implementation of that section of the health reform law aimed at curbing discriminatory abuses against the chiropractic profession and other non-MD/DO health care disciplines.
“The ability to choose the provider of choice is integral in the further implementation of PPACA. If improving the patient experience, value and positive outcomes are indeed the pillars of health reform, Section 2706(a) should be considered a linchpin to the Act’s success,” added Dr. Hamm.
The American Public Health Association (APHA) serves as the organizer of NPHW and develops a national campaign celebrated each April to educate the public, policymakers and practitioners about issues related to that year’s theme. APHA has featured a section devoted to chiropractic and its role in public health since 1995. Since then, when the first full week of April was declared NPHW, communities across the country have celebrated and recognized the contributions of public health and highlighted issues that are important to improving the public’s health. Visit the NPHW website for more information about this year’s observance, “Healthiest Nation 2030” and other daily themes.
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The American Chiropractic Association based in Arlington, Va., is the largest professional association in the United States representing doctors of chiropractic. ACA promotes the highest standards of ethics and patient care, contributing to the health and well-being of millions of chiropractic patients. Visit us at www.acatoday.org.
