Rep. Filner to attend Legislative Day

Rep. Bob Filner of California's 51st Congressional District, will attend The Chiropractic Coalition Legislative Day, April 14, in Washington, DC. Filner recently re‑introduced a bill (HR 917) that would provide veterans with direct access to doctors of chiropractic.

It is nearly identical to the bill (HR 4051, "Better Access to Chiropractors To Keep Our Veterans Healthy Act) he introduced last year, after the majority of members on the Veterans Affairs Chiropractic Advisory Committee (CAC) voted in favor of a "gatekeeper" system. The Committee's recommendation was to require patient to have a "consultation" with a medical provider before being allowed to see a doctor of chiropractic.

Only two members of the CAC voted for direct access, arguing that the long standing bias against chiropractors by medical doctors could make it nearly impossible for the veterans to see a DC. Dr. Leona Fischer of the WCA and Dr. Michael McLean of the International Chiropractors Association (ICA) voted for direct access.

Voting against direct access were the three doctors nominated by and/or aligned with the American Chiropractic Association (ACA): Dr. Rick McMichael, DC, the ACA's Ohio Delegate; Cynthia Vaughn, DC, president and executive director of the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners and partner in the Chiropractic & Spine Center of Austin with James D. Edwards, DC, former president of the ACA; and Reed C. Phillips, president of Los Angeles College of Chiropractic who served as a member of the Mercy Center Consensus.

Siding with the ACA supported committee members was Charles Duvall, Jr., DC, president of the National Association of Chiropractic Medicine. The ACA had originally opposed Duvall's appointment, yet all chiropractors other than the WCA and ICA members voted with him on this key issue.

The Filner bill directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to permit eligible veterans to receive care "on a direct access basis at the election of the eligible veteran," and specifies that "The Secretary shall not discriminate among licensed health care providers in the determination of needed services."

"This has been the goal of the WCA ever since we started working on the issue," stated WCA President Terry A. Rondberg, DC. "We were proud of Dr. Fischer for holding strong to her convictions during the Committee vote, and we were shocked and dismayed by the actions of the majority of the Committee ‑‑ including DCs who were supposed to act in the best interest of the veterans and the profession."

In a letter sent to Rep. Filner last year, Dr. Rondberg stated, "This bill would provide an important benefit to American veterans, who deserve the best possible care and the freedom to choose which type of health care they receive." He pledged the support of the WCA in finding co sponsors for the bill and helping to ensure its passage through Congress.

The ICA also came out in support of the Filner bill. "ICA enthusiastically supports this initiative," said Dr. McLean. "There is no question that veterans should have the minimum amount of bureaucracy standing between them and the care they want, and that the current status of the chiropractic program within the VA, requiring primary care referral is unacceptable to the ICA, to the profession at large, and to the veteran beneficiary."

The Federation of Straight Chiropractors and Organizations, a member of the Chiropractic Coalition with the WCA and ICA, favored the bill as well. "(The bill) will go a long way to right an injustice to our veterans. Our veterans (of which I am one) should have the right and freedom to go to the healthcare provider they choose and not have to go through a gatekeeper. The FSCO firmly supports direct access for all American veterans to receive chiropractic care and will work to support Rep. Filner's Bill," said Richard Plummer, DC, FSCO Chairman of the Board.