Missouri Leads the Way on Non-Opioid Options for TRICARE Recipients

U.S. House Bill 344 is a bipartisan bill introduced by Reps. Mike Rogers (R-AL) and Dave Loebsack (D-IA) that would provide career military retirees in TRICARE with access to Chiropractic Physicians and services to address pain management, musculoskeletal disorders, and related ailments. The Senate companion bill is Senate Bill 30 introduced by Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Jerry Moran (R-KS).

Currently active duty military has access to cost-effective, Non-Opioid treatment options; however, once they retire or “medically retire” from service, this treatment option is no longer available. The chiropractic profession is working with elected officials on a national level to fix this issue.

The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) has been advocating for these bills as a proven cost-effective way to help combat the Opioid Crisis, and it has been gaining support from across the country. CareSTL, formerly Myrtle Hilliard Davis Comprehensive Health Centers, a federally qualified Health Center in St. Louis, demonstrated an 80 percent reduction in prescriptions for pain medication when Chiropractic Physicians were added to their clinic as a treatment alternative. The reduction of pain medication prescriptions leads to a reduction in deaths due to painkiller abuse and reduction in inpatient and emergency room visits, which has increased by 137 percent in the past 10 years in Missouri alone. Last year Missouri House Bill 1516 sponsored by Representative John Wiemann adding chiropractic physicians to MoHealthNet was signed into law. It passed nearly unanimously through the Missouri House with a 137-4 vote and unanimously through the Missouri Senate. The fiscal analysis calculated by the Missouri Division of Social Services showed a 30 million dollar cost savings over a three year period when Chiropractic Physicians are included to Medicaid.

The Missouri Chiropractic Physicians Association (MCPA) has been in contact with our Missouri Senators and Representatives. Currently, six of our eight Congressmen and women from Missouri are co-sponsors on this legislation. We would like to thank the following Missouri Representatives for their support of these bills: Reps. Lacy Clay, Jr., Emanuel Cleaver II, Vicky Hartzler, Blaine Luetkemeyer, Jason Smith, and Ann Wagner.