AAC LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE
Committee members: Nancy Bilello, Chair, Denny Ellinger, Jeanette Rockers, Justus Verre, Valerie Hobbs, Anne Chew, Jan Vanderlinden
Lobbyist: Leo J. Boyle
Agencies/ Organizations:
DORA: The Department of Regulatory Agencies ~ oversees licensing and registration.
Colorado General Assembly ~ The Colorado State Legislature comprising both the Senate and the House of Representatives
2009 Senate Health and Human Services Committee Members: Senators Betty Boyd, Chair, Lois Tochtrop, Vice-chair, Morgan Carroll,
Kevin Lundberg, Shawn Mitchell, John Morse, Linda Newell, David Schultheis
2009 House Health and Human Services Committee Members: Representatives Jim Riesberg, Chair; Sara Gagliardi, Vice-chair; Cindy Acree,
Cheri Gerou, Gwyn Green, John Kefalas, Jim Kerr, Anne McGihon, B.J. Nikkel, Dianne Primavera,
Spencer Swalm,
Websites:
Colorado General Assembly: www.leg.state.co.us
DORA: www.dora.state.co.us
Project VoteSmart: Visit this website to find out who your own CO a/o U.S. Senators and Representatives are. www.votesmart.org
Local Issues:
The chiropractic profession in CO is currently undergoing their Sunset Review. This means that their Practice Act is up for its 10 year review at the legislature. Since August of 2008, Nancy Bilello, AAC President and Legislative Chair, Valerie Hobbs, Director of Southwest Acupuncture College and lobbyist Leo Boyle have met with some chiropractors of the Colorado Chiropractic Association to discuss concerns about the practice of acupuncture within the chiropractic field. Our main issue is the definition of acupuncture as it currently exists in the DORA report for the chiropractic Sunset Review. The definition that has been in effect for the past 10 years is:
"...the puncture of the skin with fine needles for diagnosis and therapeutic purposes."
The definition in the current report that the AAC is opposing is:
"...a system of health care based upon traditional Oriental medical concepts that employs Oriental methods of diagnosis, treatment and adjunctive therapies for the promotion, maintenance and restoration of health and the prevention of disease."
We have also requested that chiropractors who perform acupuncture call themselves Chiropractic Acupuncturists rather than Certified Acupuncturists to avoid confusing the public.
The Chiropractic Profession is also looking at increasing the hours of training needed for a chiropractor to practice acupuncture, but that will be done through DORA rather than through the legislature.
Hearings:
The initial hearing for the chiropractic sunset review bill will be on Wed. Jan. 28th. AAC members as well as our lobbyist will be present at this hearing
The initial hearing for the increased training will be at DORA sometime in late Feb. or March – no date has been set for that yet.
Other issues:
In Feb., we will start approaching legislators regarding an Insurance Parity bill to ensure that L.Ac.’s receive equal insurance compensation for their services.
National Issues:
AAAOM: The American Association for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. www.aaaomonline.org. This is the national association for the profession of acupuncture in the U.S. If you are not a member, please visit their website to see what they’re all about.
These are the current issues at the National Level:
National Lobbyist: We, as a profession, still do not have a national lobbyist, although many individual state associations do retain a lobbyist for their legal issues. The AAAOM is currently working on hiring a lobbyist.
The Hinchey Bill: This is the bill that would mandate Medicare and Medicaid coverage for acupuncture services. This bill has been around for several years and gains greater support each time it comes around. I believe the most recent version of this bill is 2007, and Congressman Hinchey is reintroducing it in 2009.
First Professional Doctorate: This is a very hot topic right now. There is ongoing debate as to whether or not our profession should have the doctoral level be our entry level. Again, please visit the AAAOM website for more info on this important topic.
