Congress Passes Legislation Expanding Veteran Access to Nondrug Chiropractic Services
Congress Passes Legislation Expanding Veteran Access to Nondrug Chiropractic Services
SOURCE: American Chiropractic Association
Arlington, Va. — The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) announced today that Congress, with the passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018, has approved a plan to expand access to chiropractic’s nondrug approach to pain relief to veterans, many of whom suffer from back pain and other musculoskeletal conditions resulting from their service.
The Senate voted 65-32 to approve the $1.3 trillion omnibus spending package early Friday, less than 24 hours ahead of what would have been a government shutdown. The vote follows House passage, and the bill now heads to the president’s desk for his signature.
Supported by several veterans groups and championed in Congress by Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), the approved language calls for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to expand the availability of chiropractic services at no fewer than two medical centers or clinics in each Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) by no later than Dec. 31, 2019, and at no fewer than 50 percent of all medical centers in each VISN by no later than Dec. 31, 2021.
The measure also, for the first time, codifies and broadens chiropractic services in the VA to include services provided by doctors of chiropractic under the Preventive Health Services and Medical categories — in addition to existing coverage under Rehabilitative Services — placing chiropractors in service categories previously closed to them.
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