Chiropractic: On the Frontline for Pain

National Chiropractic Health Month 2022 will promote the use of non-drug approaches such as chiropractic services as a first line of defense against musculoskeletal pain.

Warm Greetings from the NYSCA Insurance Committee! This summer has brought forth several important changes and deadlines which have impacted how you interface with payers.  The NYSCA Insurance Committee (The NIC) has been inundated with calls, especially with the new Workers' Compensation requirements and the new MVP program effective 1/1/23. This article will address questions related to the New MVP program. Workers’ Compensation will be addressed in a separate piece.

As you prepare for your holiday weekend, the NYSCA Insurance Committee (the NIC) would like to provide you with the following reminders and updates which encompasses three topics: Workers' Compensation, MVP, and Highpoint BlueCross Blue Shield of Western New York. More detailed information and news related to other insurance issues will be disseminated in the next several weeks.

On June 21, 2022, Northeast College of Health Sciences President Dr. Michael Mestan led a discussion about the state of chiropractic in New York state, featuring leaders from the New York State Chiropractic Association (NYSCA) and the New York Chiropractic Council.

On behalf of the NY State Board for Chiropractic's Public Information Committee, we are disseminating the following Practice Alerts: 1) "The Treating Peripheral Neuropathy" and 2) "Treating Concussion Practice Alerts" have been posted as #12 and #13 on the Chiropractic Practice Alert webpage in the links below:

We are pleased to announce that our coalition conservative care bill (opioid bill), A273 sponsored by Assemblymember Gottfried and S4640 sponsored by Senator Rivera, has passed both the Assembly and the Senate! The bill now heads to the governor’s office for review. We will be heavily advocating for her to sign the bill into law.

Welcome to Spring!  The NYSCA Insurance Committee (The NIC) would like to provide this summary update of recent insurance-related issues which may impact your practice.  This edition is dedicated to Workers’ Compensation, and in particular the continuing rollout of the NYS Workers’ Compensation OnBoard Initiative and submission requirements. 

The Chiropractic Medicare Coverage Modernization Act

The U.S. Senate has introduced a bill, S. 4042, to modernize Medicare coverage and better meet the needs of today’s seniors by increasing access to services provided by doctors of chiropractic. An identical bipartisan-supported bill in the House currently has 130 cosponsors.

The New York State Education Department has developed a webpage containing many frequently asked questions related to the developing COVID-19 situation.  An excerpt from this page as relates to continuing education requirements is included below.

The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) collaborated recently with the Patient Access to Responsible Care Alliance (PARCA), a coalition of non-MD healthcare providers, in submitting a letter to federal regulators urging them to enforce a rule that requires group health plans and health insurers to fairly compensate non-MDs for the same services delivered by other healthcare providers. The letter is addressed to the Secretaries of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Labor, and the Department of the Treasury. 

On March 17, 2022, the provision of the New York HERO Act requiring masking has “ended” without it being renewed. Therefore, apart from those health care settings identified by the Commissioner of Health in her recent determination (March 2, 2022) which only applies to "facilities or entities regulated under Articles 28 [Hospitals], 36 [Home Health Care Services] and 40 [Hospices] of the Public Health Law," the mask requirement does not appear to apply to private practice settings in New York State.

Earlier this week, Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law three bills intended to address and expand sexual harassment protections in New York State. While these laws will have relatively minor implications for private employers, employers should be aware of a few important points.

 Read more at HSElaw.com

This event is an opportunity for healthcare professionals and community members to discuss the opioid epidemic and find feasible solutions. A virtual streaming option is available; please reserve a virtual ticket to receive the link!

Over the weekend, the Assembly and Senate released their one-house budget proposals. Today, each house will vote today on resolutions, which memorialize their one-house budget proposals.

The New York State COVID-19 Pandemic Small Business Recovery Grant Program was created to provide flexible grant assistance to currently viable small businesses, micro-businesses and for-profit independent arts and cultural organizations in the State of New York who have experienced economic hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The co-chairs of the Legislative Committee wanted to provide a legislative update on NYSCA’s legislative activities in Albany. Our Legislative Committee has been actively working with our government affairs attorney on several legislative priorities for the Association.