As we have seen over the past several years, the
actions of government officials can have a profound impact upon our
profession. With the challenges facing the chiropractic profession,
your participation in the legislative process is more imperative than
ever. This lobbying center is your link to the latest legislative
issues and will notify you of any actions that need to be taken.
In addition to the efforts undertaken by the Association and the
members of our profession, the New York State Chiropractic Association
also has a professional lobbyist serving the needs of our profession.
The Association is represented by Harter, Secrest & Emery, LLP.
HSE works to monitor and affect the progress of proposed legislation or
regulations that impact our profession through their strategic
involvement. They arrange for the introduction of bills, track the
progress of proposed regulations and lobby to secure or modify
legislation and administrative action on behalf of the Association. HSE
also provides direct contact with legislators, advocacy on behalf of
the Association and the profession and immediate and appropriate
reaction to proposed legislative actions. They also work with various
state agencies such as the Workers' Compensation Board and the State
Education Department.
Current
Issues
Partnership
Bill
A5956 sponsored by Assemblyman Daniel O'Donnell and
S1940 sponsored by Senator Charles Fuschillo
The legislation
would permit doctors of chiropractic to form partnerships with medical
doctors. The decision to form partnerships is 100% voluntary. This
legislation would not force anyone to enter into partnerships but would
allow MD's and DC's to make better business decisions. Current law
requires the DC to give up their practice and become an employee of the
MD - this obviously discourages the integration of practices.
Benefits of forming
a partnership for the doctors include: consolidation of staff
expenses, office expenses and other overhead.
Benefits for
patients include: connected and coordinated care that will reduce
inefficiencies, redundancies and excesses. Further, saves patients time
and money as they can visit multiple providers in one location.
The future of
healthcare is integrated, collaborative care.
Many other states
already recognize this, including: Connecticut, Pennsylvania,
California, Florida, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Minnesota, Arizona,
North Carolina, Virginia and Alabama.
Workers'
Compensation Medical Treatment Guidelines
The Association and HSE have worked tirelessly on
this issue. We continue to have ongoing discussion with the Workers'
Compensation Board regarding issues that remain with the medical
treatment guidelines including the issue of EMG. The work of the
Association and HSE was instrumental in ensuring the adoption of
maintenance care guidelines.
Healthcare
Exchange Establishment
Since the establishment of the Exchange system, the
Association has been focused on this issue. We are happy to report that
the baseline policy coverage for any plan offered in New York will be
required to include chiropractic coverage. The State has established
regional advisory committees comprised of various healthcare providers
to participate in meetings and conversations regarding the
establishment of New York's healthcare exchange. There are three NYSCA
members on three different regional committees representing the
interests of the profession.
For any questions regarding the legislative activity of the
Association, please contact the legislative committee chair, Mariangela
Penna at mpennadc@verizon.net.
