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April 26, 2010
This past Saturday, HNS board members Dr. Dick Armstrong and Dr. John Smith met with President Obama at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC while attending the NCCA Spring Convention.
President Obama, a graduate of Harvard University, and Dr. Armstrong, a graduate of Yale University, traded some good natured punches regarding their respective alma maters...
Dr. Armstrong took advantage of this unique opportunity to stress the importance of chiropractic and urged the President to make sure that chiropractic is included in all health care reform strategies.
Dr. Smith and President Obama, both serious basketball fans, had a brief conversation about the NBA playoffs while watching the last few minutes of the Charlotte Bobcats game.
On Sunday, following a workout in the exercise facility at the Grove Park Inn, President Obama graciously posed for pictures with Dr. Dick Armstrong, Dr. John Smith, Dr. Bob Stroud and Dr. Justin Bode.
HNS Contributes $10K to ACA
Last year, HNS contributed $10,000 to the NCCA and in keeping with our commitment to support both our state and national organizations, on April 12, HNS contributed $10,000 to the ACA. The contribution was made to the ACA CHAMP program (The Chiropractic Health Advocacy and Mobilization Project) on behalf of all HNS providers. CHAMP is a national campaign designed to raise funds to be used to boost the chiropractic profession’s profile and increase its influence on Capitol Hill and within the White House.
MAINTENANCE CARE
GAINING GROUND as COVERED SERVICE
HNS recently notified you that two large NC self-insured employer groups, The City of Cary and Piedmont Natural Gas, now include maintenance/supportive care as a covered chiropractic service for their employees!
HNS, together with the efforts from many HNS providers, have worked hard to educate self-funded employer groups regarding the benefit and importance of including maintenance and supportive care as a COVERED chiropractic benefit, but there is more work to be done. How can you help?
1. Identify those patients in your practice who have self-funded insurance plans.
2. Inform these patients that it is their employer, not the plan administrator that made the decision to exclude maintenance care as a covered benefit. Inform them that other self-funded employers DO cover maintenance and supportive care.
3. Ask these patients to contact their employer’s Human Resources Department and urge them to add maintenance and supportive care as a covered chiropractic benefit under their plan.
Working together we can make a difference! Don’t forget - your patients with insurance through the City of Cary and Piedmont Natural Gas are NOW covered for maintenance and supportive care!
HNS Lobbyist Hard at Work for Chiropractic
Did you know that part of your HNS admin fees are used to employ a full-time lobbyist to fight for issues important to chiropractic?
HNS Lobbyist, Mr. Mike Mann, is one of the most experienced and effective lobbyists in North Carolina. Last year, Mr. Mann and Dr. Bob Stroud (HNS Legislative Chair) with assistance from the NCCA legislative team, worked hard to halt the proposed increase to State Health Plan co-pays. Additionally, in 2009 the PT’s introduced a bill to grant them the right to perform spinal manipulation (without physician orders) and would have also allowed them sole ownership of the terms "physiotherapy" and "physical therapy." Due to the tremendous effort of your HNS lobbyist, Dr. Stroud, the NCCA legislative team and other impacted health care providers, we successfully defeated this attempt by the PT’s. However, we anticipate the PT's will attempt to revive that bill in the Legislative Session beginning in May so there is still more work to be done...
Chiropractors now face a new challenge. Governor Perdue has released her proposed budget for the next fiscal year which we fear would effectively eliminate chiropractic services from Medicaid.
Your HNS lobbyist and Dr. Stroud have already met with many key legislators and are working hard to garner support to keep chiropractic as a Medicaid benefit for all recipients. This will not be an easy battle but we are committed to fighting this with the same determination with which we approach all legislative issues important to chiropractic.
HNS Raised Thousands $$ for PAC
Thanks to the many generous PAC contributions by HNS providers, HNS has distributed thousands of dollars to NC candidates who believe in the value and the importance of chiropractic. The importance of providing financial support to those candidates who support this profession cannot be overstated... and we thank all of you who so generously donated to this important cause.
HNS Announces New Contract
Absolute Total Care (ATC) has chosen Health Network Solutions, Inc. (HNS) as their chiropractic network for the South Carolina Medicaid program and Healthy Connection Kids program. Absolute Total Care is a Medicaid health plan in South Carolina with a commitment to delivering results for the people they serve. They partner with physicians, hospitals, and other providers to ensure that each member gets the right care at the right time, in the right setting. Absolute Total Care is also a part of the South Carolina Healthy Connections Kids (HCK) program. |
