VCA Legislation and Politics

VCA's Legislative Guide (PDF). A handy reference to lobbying and communicating with your legislators. VCA members may obtain a hard copy by e-mailing their request to vcacentral@hughes.net

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VCA LEGISLATIVE ALERT

DCs Retain Right to Use Term “Physician”

The "definition of physician bill" that had been initiated by the Medical Society of Virginia and introduced by Delegate Harry R. Purkey was officially withdrawn on Monday evening.

HB 1938 proposed to require that no person other than those who have received a degree as a medical doctor or doctor of osteopathy could use the term "physician" in connection with his name or practice. On January 22nd, a subcommittee of the Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee voted to "lay the bill on the table" (measure defeated).

View VCA’s position paper on this issue

Thanks to everyone for your support and action. This is yet another example of how effective we can be when we work together!

Bill Thesier, DC
VCA Legislative Committee Chair

posted 01/26/07

Keeping Up With Virginia Legislation

There’s a new website that is designed to make it easier to find out about bills and follow them, and get info on legislators, districts, etc. Visit http://www.richmondsunlight.com/.

S. 1955 Fails on Procedural Vote

In a historic victory for chiropractors and their patients, S.1955, theealth Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act, was withdrawn from the Senate floor last Thursday, May 11th, and effectively defeated when Democrats threatened to filibuster the bill. The controversial small business health plan legislation spurred an unprecedented grassroots lobbying campaign by the American Chiropractic Association and hundreds of provider and consumer groups that believed the bill would gut state patient protection laws and leave millions of patients without crucial health care benefits.

The VCA extends a huge "thank you!" to the individual doctors, patients, students, chiropractic college leaders, state and national chiropractic associations, and other organizations who joined together to successfully defeat this potentially devastating legislation.

posted 05/15/06

President Bush Signs Legislation Reversing Medicare Physician Fee Cuts

President Bush signed legislation in early February that not only reverses the current 4.4 percent Medicare physician payment reduction, which went into effect on the first of year, but will also provide automatic reprocessing of claims retroactive to Jan. 1, 2006. The legislation was included in the Deficit Reduction Act. Many view the return to the 2005 rate to indicate at least partial recognition by Congress that health care providers face significant challenges in today’s practice environment.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) said it expects contractors to begin paying new claims using 2005 rates within two days of the legislation’s enactment. DCs will not need to resubmit existing claims submitted between January 1 and February 8, 2006. Contractors will automatically reprocess any claims that used the rates effective as of January 1, 2006, and will instead use the zero percent update retroactive to January 1. CMS estimates contractors should be able to reprocess all claims by July 1, 2006. Providers will receive retroactive payment for the differential in a lump sum.

Physician fee schedule amounts are determined by regulation and the only way they can be changed is through legislation; this puts the issue in the hands of Congress. In late 2005, Congress evaluated the issue, but technical amendments in the Senate prevented final action on this critical issue until this week.

CMS, recognizing that the physician payment adjustment could increase beneficiaries’ co-payments and deductibles for previously billed services, has suggested to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that if a beneficiaries’ co-pay changed on January 1, 2006, a physician waiver of the amount now owed by the beneficiary should not be considered inducement. More information will be available on the ACA Web at www.acatoday.org/government/medicare/feeschedule.

Therapy Caps

For most doctors of chiropractic – with the exception of those DCs participating in the Medicare Demonstration Project – coverage of chiropractic services is specifically limited to treatment by means of manual manipulation of the spine. With language included in Deficit Reduction Act, the President also authorized the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to develop a new exception process for Medicare beneficiaries to apply for medically necessary therapy services if their treatment is expected to exceed the $1,740 cap in 2006.

posted 02/15/06

Annual Summary of Health Care Legislation

Click here (members only, login required) for an annual summary of health care legislation enacted in this year's Regular Session of the General Assembly from K. Marshall Cook of Hirschler Fleischer, PC, VCA's attorney. A chiropractic-specific summary from VCA lobbyist Bruce Keeney of The Keeney Corporation will also be posted soon.

posted 02/15/06

Legislative Update - HB 1111 and 1112

The “advertising bill” was defeated on January 31, 2006, 5 to 3. Voting "for" were Del. Janis from Chesterfield County, Del. Moran from Alexandria, and Del. Nutter from Christiansburg/ Blacksburg.

The “direct access bill” failed 6 to 2, with Del. Janis and Del. Moran voting “for”.

We have some work to do, but we were successful this time around. The VCA lobbyist will monitor the legislature, just in case the House tries to bring it back before the full committee, but it appears that we avoided “a big one” this time.

The VCA is also reviewing all other pieces of legislation still in play for possible impact, so watch for continued updates.

posted 02/05/06

David E. Brown, DC, Elected to Charlottesville City Council

According to the article in the May 4th issue of The Daily Progress, Charlottesville’s Democrats will keep a strong hold on City Council after a resounding sweep of that day’s election, when Democrats Kendra Hamilton, Kevin Lynch, and Chiropractor David E. Brown defeated Republicans Ann Reinicke and Kenneth Jackson and independent Vance High.

Hamilton was in first place with 3,465 votes, nearly double fourth-place Ann Reinicke’s 1,782. Brown came in second with 3,366, Lynch third with 3,183 - 1,401 votes ahead of the GOP’s Reinicke - and Jackson was fifth with 1,557. Write-in candidates took 778 votes, and High received 717.

“I’m really excited. I’m going to work very hard,” Dr. Brown told a crowd of hooting and clapping Democrats as he promised to be accessible to all residents, regardless of party. Dr. Brown is a long-time member of the Virginia Chiropractic Association who started his thriving Charlottesville practice in 1979.

posted 05/10/05