Legislative Day & PAC Fundraiser at the
Capitol
 |
MARK YOUR CALENDAR!
Legislative Day at the Capitol
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Third Floor Capitol Rotunda
Jefferson City |
This is your chance to become part of the political process and support the MSCA PAC. Join your fellow doctors at the State Capitol for the annual MSCA Legislative Day. Don’t miss this opportunity to visit with your legislator and promote the chiropractic issues important to you and your patients.
THE GOVERNMENT REPORT
By Mo McCullough, Government Affairs Director
2009 Legislative Session Wrap-up
HB 577, with the MSCA's 50% Rule attached, was the last bill of the 2009 session to be truly agreed and finally passed.
Well, the 2009 Legislative Session has come to a welcome end. This was a strange one to say the least. The Dems and Repubs were fighting; the House Repubs were fighting the Senate Repubs; and the full House was fighting the full Senate. The budget was a mess, and no one could agree on how to spend the millions of dollars of stimulus money from the Feds. There were short bills that started as consent bills that ended up as huge omnibus bills; and there were omnibus bills that shrunk in the last week. Through all this there were good bills that died and bad bills that passed.
One very good bill that was passed was HB 577. It started its journey through the legislative process as a 15-page bill dealing with captive insurance companies but picked up several amendments along the way. Two good amendments that were added were the language strengthening the prompt pay statute in Missouri and the language pushed by the MSCA prohibiting insurance carriers from charging a co-pay amount to chiropractic patients that exceeds 50% of the actual cost of the service provided (50% rule). Unfortunately, the prompt pay language was stripped off in conference along with most of the other amendments.
With the help of Senators Jim Lembke and Scott Rupp, and Representative Brian Yates, we successfully fought to keep our 50% rule in the bill; and at 5:37 on Friday, HB 577 was the last bill of the 2009 session to be truly agreed and finally passed and sent to the governor. This is a major victory for chiropractic in Missouri. It will help keep your patients coming to you for their care, and it will keep money in their pockets.
For more information on the 2009 Legislative Session search the Missouri Government website www.moga.mo.gov.
MSCA and PAC Working Full Time
Times are tough, and we are all feeling the crunch. When things get tight with costs going up and revenues lagging, we are often forced to re-evaluate our priorities. With this belt tightening comes the very legitimate questions: “Why should I continue my membership in the MSCA and the MSCA PAC? Why should they be a priority?” Let me try to help you in your decision making process.
The MSCA and the MSCA PAC are the only organizations working full time to advance and protect chiropractic in Missouri. Without these two vital organizations you would not have 26 mandated visits; you would not be portal of entry providers with direct access to patients; you would not have a lien law; you would not have a chiropractor and a voice on the Missouri Board of Health; you would not have a practice act that allows you to practice what you are taught in chiropractic college; you would not have a prompt pay law; you would not be able to charge reasonable fees to copy and mail medical records, and the list goes on. On the negative side, you would have PTs and naturopaths adjusting, manipulating and stealing your patients; you would have MDs determining what you can and can’t do and what you can and can’t call yourself; you would have insurance carriers successfully discriminating against you whenever they wanted; you would have the very survival of the chiropractic profession in jeopardy.
Looking to the future, we are working on several fronts to move chiropractic forward in Missouri. Legislatively, we are fighting for pay parity, reduced co-pay and co-insurance fees, improved workers compensation coverage, inclusion in MoHealthNet and more. Partnering with AMI, we are working to expand chiropractic coverage in the Missouri Consolidated Health Plan. Our insurance and legal committees are working to improve relationships with all the insurance carriers through direct negotiations and legal actions. Our public relations committee and office staff are actively seeking ways to improve the image of chiropractic in Missouri. For example, we recently were a major sponsor of Tour of Missouri and received tremendous publicity statewide.
Yes, there is more; but I think this gives you some idea of the importance of the MSCA and MSCA PAC. So when the time comes to set your priorities, please remember this: The MSCA and PAC are the ONLY organizations fighting daily to advance and protect the chiropractic profession in Missouri and, without you, they are gone. |
|
Find Out Who Your Legislator Is, Click
Here
Missouri Statute Search
Current Law
50% Copay Law
DOT Physicals
Insurance
(including Prompt Pay statutes)
RSMo 376.383 and 376.384)
Lien Law
RSMo 430.225
Patient Access
RSMo 376.1230
Practice Act
RSMo 331.010
Fees for Medical Records
CLICK HERE |
