As a Phoenix, AZ chiropractor I have been monitoring healthcare reform efforts closely.  My primary concern is preservation of a patient’s freedom to select a physician type (MD, DO, DC, etc.) based on where they feel they will be best served.  You deserve to choose chiropractic care without financial disincentives inflicted by insurance companies or the U.S. Government. 

Protect your right to access chiropractic care by clicking the following hyper link and joining  ChiroVoice. This chiropractic advocacy network can influence congress and policy makers in Washington.  You deserve to be heard and strength definitely lies in numbers. This group is well organized and will assist your communication with legislators.

There are many reasons for recent skyrocketing insurance costs. It is easy to assign blame to greedy individual insurers and health care facilities. In addition, the U.S. has a shrinking number of healthy working people paying insurance premiums compared to aging baby boomers who cost insurers far more than they individually paid into the system. Often overlooked are the expenses of evolving high tech diagnostic procedures and heroic life saving treatments.   Technology allows you to live longer and survive multiple high dollar treatments compared to years past.  As a result, insurance premiums continue to rise at rates greater than wage increases. At the state level, insurers have further eroded quality of care by successfully persuading lawmakers to enable discriminatory, bare boned policies stripped of chiropractic and other previously mandated coverage so they can maximize profitability while simultaneously providing less coverage to patients.  Our current healthcare system seems unsustainable. 

On March 23rd, 2010, President Barack Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), a monumental step towards reform of  the U.S. healthcare system.   PPACA requires compliance by states by 2014 and eliminates annual and lifetime insurance maximums, extends the age that children can stay on parents' policies, and  eliminates policy exclusions for pre-existing health conditions. All of these changes while humane will be very costly and will require buy in by the millions who are currently uninsured.  Insurance companies are projected to exercise their right to raise premiums as needed to be profitable. 

Hopefully House members, Senators, and the American public will continue to revise the current law to address some of these increasing cost issues.   Skeptics however, fear that a government takeover will decrease quality of health care, create physician shortages, decrease physician reimbursement, and drive private insurers out of business.  If this happens we may be left with a socialistic style “single payor system” that ultimately could result in much increased taxes to individuals. Both small and large corporations likely will see an increased tax burden and could cause a ripple effect of decreasing numbers of jobs being offered.  Worse yet we may see more off shoring of jobs as corporations set up shop in countries where it is easier to turn a profit.

It is important that conservative low cost treatments offered by chiropractors are viewed as cost saving, essential coverage and not as add on or expendable luxuries in an already difficult to pay for government overhaul.  The American Chiropractic Association has taken the lead to help represent you.  Help them by joining ChiroVoice today.