INTERNATIONAL CHIROPRACTORS ASSOCIATION

The importance in increasing research resources to both chiropractic institutions, practice-based researchers, and non profits involved in advancing research. Research resources are essential advancing and expanding the knowledge base in order to have improved access and reimbursement, and to clarify matters in which the evidence-informed base is not fully developed. Research is also need to clarify and improve upon integrated models of care for neuromuscular injuries such as TBI in which chiropractic can play a integral role. To expand upon the recent studies on adjusting the atlas through Upper Cervical adjusting to improve cerebral spinal fluid circulation.

The importance of improving access in facilities, referrals and access in local communities to doctors of chiropractic and chiropractic care by all veterans and veterans dependents as well the need to improve the reimbursement process. The need to study the whole person effect and quality of life improvement opportunities for veterans and their dependents who receive regular chiropractic care. The need to address barriers to access that continue including limits of visits, requirement to have a medical referral, challenges for community care providers, and frustrations by veterans who are not getting the chiropractic care they need to the degree they need it.

The importance of including chiropractic care and doctors of chiropractic in all federally funded or managed programs and the importance of regular chiropractic care, not just for pain related symptoms, but also for whole person health care. The importance of increasing research resources specifically for clinical chiropractic research conducted by chiropractic academic institutions and organizations.

The importance of including doctors of chiropractic on advisory committees; as part of the solution to the pain/opioid crisis. The need to include doctors of chiropractic in all federal health programs, and to treat doctors of chiropractic equitably to other doctors in federal education reimbursement and scholarship programs, in research, and in federal health care programs.

The need to introduce and pass into law Medicare legislation that will swiftly and with surety eliminate the long standing discriminations against patients who seek chiropractic care through their Medicare program, to include coverage of existing covered services in Medicare such as exams and imaging services needed for the evaluation and management of patients in conjunction with the chiropractic adjustment including to identify and correct subluxations while keeping chiropractic a non-drug prescribing profession. This should also include a restoration of the freedom of Medicare Beneficiaries to privately contract with their chiropractor the same as they have the right to with other doctors.