Arizona Chiropractic Society eNewsletter

     

June 24, 2013Newsletter Subtitle

Month Year
The Arizona Chiropractic Society is here to serve you!

ARIZONA
CHIROPRACTIC
SOCIETY
 ACS Logo


3515 E. Carol Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85028
VOICE 602.368.9496
FAX 866.567.6762

ACS@AZChiropractors.org

 

Alan M. Immerman, D.C., ACS President and Executive Director
Alan M. Immerman, D.C., ACS President and Executive Director

YOUR MEMBERSHIP HAS EXPIRED -- SPECIAL OFFERS FOR REJOINING!


Dear Doctor,
 
         Thank you for supporting the Arizona Chiropractic Society (ACS) by accessing our many online resources. You are currently not an ACS member or your annual membership has expired. We are excited to announce some changes that are happening in the membership department and we would love to include you. Will you join or renew today?

         While the current political landscape for chiropractic is more favorable than it has ever been, we are at a crossroads. Many of our victories could be rolled back with a new Arizona Legislature and Governor, and hundreds of thousands of Arizonans still do not have affordable access to chiropractic. Patients and their chiropractic providers continue to suffer extreme financial hardship while there is full insurance coverage for medical and surgical treatment of the same conditions - pure discrimination, plain and simple.

 

         The goal of ACS is to bring affordable, insurance-reimbursable access to chiropractic to every patient who needs it in Arizona. Your support and participation is critical in helping to realize this goal. We want to make access to chiropractic as dignified and affordable as it is to regular medical care. Chiropractic physician and ACS President Alan M. Immerman, D.C. founded ACS in 1991 in response to the AMA's use of insurance companies to "contain and eliminate" chiropractic as part of its illegal "boycott and conspiracy" against the chiropractic profession. Since then, ACS has been instrumental in shaping the political and legal landscape of chiropractic in Arizona. Our successful lobbying, media, and legal campaigns have led to compassionate legislative and administrative polices, and created a political space for full insurance coverage of chiropractic care.
 
What We Do:

  • Strive to end slavery by ASH. No chiropractor can tolerate a career of $44 visits with $40 copays and an average of 6.5 visits per patient episode of care.
  • Work to end State Farm tyranny. Their newest twist is paying you $12 in full for a four hour deposition. We are fighting them in court so that you can be paid the usual expert fee of hundreds of dollars per hour to testify. Also, State Farm invented the low speed impact defenses that are driving down settlements and Dr. Immerman is in the forefront of fighting them legally in this area as well in the courtroom.
  • Protect patients' rights by bringing the voice of patients to the Arizona State Legislature. ACS opened its offices in 1991 to articulate the needs of patients and doctors to help broaden support at the State Capital and executive agencies and departments for full insurance coverage of chiropractic.
  • Fair regulation -The work that ACS has done to help establish and implement regulatory laws for chiropractic has ended the reign of terror imposed on the profession by the Arizona Chiropractic Board for almost ten years. We now have a fair and reasonable Board because of ACS.
  • One-on-one consulting with Dr. Immerman on virtually any chiropractic-related issue. After 33 years of being licensed in Arizona, Dr. Immerman likely has the answers to all of your questions and he is happy to take the time to work with you as long as it takes to resolve your issues.
  • Full personal injury practice consulting from A to Z. Check out our complete ACS Personal Injury Package by clicking here: http://www.azchiropractors.org/file_open.php?id=1111. Our newest addition is the best attorney lien form ever written. This is on top of the ACS UCC lien form which grants you more legal rights than a County Health Care Lien and should be used in every PI case.

Why Join?

         ACS membership means you are a part of bringing full chiropractic insurance coverage to everyone who needs it. Membership also offers you direct access to the latest information and resources, connects you to the movement, and encourages you to take action to help ensure patients have access to the chiropractic health care they need. 

           There are many benefits to becoming an ACS member and we suggest you do so today! 

  * Access to Members-Only section on ACS website with all 60 member benefit documents and services.
  * Consulting on all things chiropractic including health insurance and PI collections, Board problems, and much, much more.
  * Discounted entry to ACS events.
  * Discounts at benefit partner businesses.
  * Invitations to Member-Only Events and subscriptions to Member-Only briefings.
  * Knowledge that you are helping change the chiropractic movement every day

         We cannot do the work we do without support from our members, so we are hoping you will commit to support ACS by joining today. Membership dues are just $100 per month ($50 for part time doctors or special hardship cases), or you can go the extra mile by making a recurring higher level donation.  We do offer special membership rates for lower income supporters. Please contact Dr. Immerman for full details at ACS@AZChiropractors.org.

         You can join online right now at www.AZChiropractors.org or by calling ACS at (602) 368-9496 and we'll take care of it over the phone in five minutes. Thank you in advance for helping ACS fight for full access to and coverage of chiropractic care in Arizona!

 

Best regards,

Alan M. Immerman, D.C., President

PS: We have accomplished so much this year and with your help we can keep going. Check out the frequently updated Breaking News section on the home page of www.AZChiropractors.org for the newest developments. We have tried to send this message only to non-members. If you are already a member and have received this message, please forward it to a colleague who is not a member and thank you for your ongoing support!


BREAKING NEWS
 
 
BREAKING NEWS 06/21/13: ACS releases the ultimate, most comprehensive PI attorney lien form along with two explanatory articles about how to use it that can be read by clicking here and here. Learn about the services of an attorney to help you get lawyers to honor your liens. Protect your rights to get paid in PI cases by using this lien.
 
BREAKING NEWS 06/12/13: Governor chooses State Employee Benefit - United Healthcare EPO as Arizona's Essential Health Benefits benchmark package. Coverage for chiropractic includes physician visits, copay $15.00 per visit; spinal manipulation  limited to 20 visits per member per plan year subject to being medically appropriate, copay $15.00 per visit; and rehabilitation services, limited to 60 visits per member per plan year for all therapy types including physical medicine copay $15.00 per visit. This is the minimum plan that all employers will have to offer beginning 01/01/14. Click here to read Governor's letter announcing her decision. Click here to read the Benefit Plan Booklet
 from the Arizona Department of Insurance (ADOI) website.

 

BREAKING NEWS 06/06/13: ACS releases all new June 2013 monthly eNewsletter with lead story about ACS' plan to file same lawsuit against ASHN and BCBS that the ACA has filed against ASHN and CIGNA on a national basis. Also read about ACS' plans for 2014 Legislative session, BCBS/Gilsbar refund demands, Aetna policy on manual therapy,and much more by clicking here.

 

BREAKING NEWS 05/30/13: Video evidence of insurance company discrimination against chiropractors that is depriving many patients of chiropractic care and causing many chiropractors to go out of business. View powerful video that tells the whole story by clicking here.

 

BREAKING NEWS 05/16/13: How to Use the Health Care Appeals, Grievance and Timely Payment Laws to Get Paid. ACS has made key Member Benefit documents public so entire profession can use key tools to get paid. Click here for complete information. Much more information like this available to members. Join today online!

 

BREAKING NEWS 05/02/13: ACS releases May 2013 eNewsletter with key stories about appeal filed with Arizona Supreme Court in ADOI lawsuit to overturn Court of Appeals decision, plans for additional litigation and legislation to achieve insurance equality, meeting with ADOI Director and executive staff, solutions for refund demands and much more. Click here to read the newsletter. 

 

BREAKING NEWS 04/22/13: Meeting with ADOI Director and staff on 04/18/13 to address ACS' complaints nonproductive. ADOI refuses to agree to enforce any of the key provisions of the chiropractic insurance equality law. ACS now strategizing other solutions. Click here to read a full report of the details of the meeting.

 

BREAKING NEWS 04/02/13: ACS releases all new April 2013 eNewsletter with key stories about Court of Appeals decision in favor of ADOI, legislative defeat of SB 1362, Senate committee decision in favor of Gerrie Marks as ADOI Director as much more. Click here to read full newsletter.

 

BREAKING NEWS 03/27/13: State Farm files petition with Arizona Court of Appeals to force doctors to accept $12 as payment in full for depositions in PI cases. Treating DCs would be "fact witnesses" and not "expert witnesses" if State Farm prevails. ACS files Amicus brief with Court to oppose State Farm.

 

BREAKING NEWS 03/20/13: SB 1362 fails to pass Senate on reconsideration as some Senators still believe bill will turn DCs into PCPs while others want to wait to see how national insurance equality affects profession. Some Senators follow directions from Arizona Chamber of Commerce which is dominated by BCBS. ACS now focusing on gaining enforcement of current insurance equality law. Go to the ACS Legislative webpage at http://www.azchiropractors.org/pages/LEGISLATIVE-INFORMATION-PAGE.php to view streaming video of all Legislative hearings and votes.

  

BREAKING NEWS 02/11/13: ACS releases February 2013 ACS eNewsletter with lead story "Powerful, Leading Legislators Sponsor and Introduce ACS Insurance Equality Law." Also read about refund demands and all breaking news by clicking here.

 

BREAKING NEWS 02/09/13: U.S. Department of Labor files amicus brief supporting ACS' position that post payment audit (PPA) reviews are adverse claims determinations subject to all ERISA appeal rights. Click here to read key excerpts from the DOL amicus brief. This will greatly strengthen the ACS anti-PPA letter available by clicking here. 

 

BREAKING NEWS 12/06/12: ACS releases December 2012 eNews with lead story "Legislators Poised to Tell ADOI to Enforce Chiropractic Insurance Equality Law or They Will Allow Public to Do It." Also, ACS explains details of how its strategy is effective in countering the epidemic of refund demands from health insurers. Read about the Governor's new appointment for ADOI Director, all of the ACS member benefits and Corporate Members. Click here to read the entire 8 page full color PDF newsletter.

 

BREAKING NEWS 11/07/12: ACS releases November 2012 ACS eNewsletter with story about ACS' plans to attack insurance discrimination at the Legislature in January, 2013. Also read about the complete ACS package to fight low speed impact arguments in PI cases, LaBombard defenses, how to fight refund demands, and much more by clicking here.

 

BREAKING NEWS 10/31/12: BCBS to be sued for charging copays for chiropractic care. The lawsuit will be handled by the law firm Hansen Reynolds Dickinson Crueger LLC from Milwaukee, WI, http://hrdclaw.com/, with Arizona bad faith insurance lawyer Stephen Ryan, www.stephencryanpc.com/. The WI firm has been litigating the same issue in WI. Here is a link to a newspaper article about their lawsuit and a link to the initial 30 page WI filing.

 

BREAKING NEWS 10/20/12: ACS releases Low Speed Impact Defense Package including a letter to send to a claims adjuster who has raised low speed impact arguments, telling you to limit treatment because property damage was minor. The package is posted on the Member Benefits page, #35.1 to 35.6.

 

BREAKING NEWS 08/03/12: ACS releases all new 8 page August 2012 ACS eNewsletter. Lead story: "Insurance Restrictions on Chiropractic Fueling Epidemic of Narcotic Opiate Addictive Prescription Painkiller Abuse." Read this story and much more by clicking here. Read ACS page on the subject by clicking here. Read ACS Position Paper by clicking here.

 

BREAKING NEWS 06/28/12: US Supreme Court upholds national healthcare reform including powerful clause prohibiting discrimination against chiropractors. Click here to read full ACS explanation of chiropractic provisions which will be a boon to the profession. 

 

BREAKING NEWS 04/28/12: ACS publishes Complete Directory to Personal Injury Resources, superior to many hours of seminars and hundreds of dollars of expense. Based on Dr. Immerman's 69 trials and 45 depositions in the past 15 years with overall 500 case reviews. 

 

BREAKING NEWS 03/26/12: $70,000 Plaintiff's award in classic low speed impact case. State Farm retains Joseph Peles, PhD, biomechanical engineer, and plaintiffs retained Alan M. Immerman, D.C. to rebut. Jury did not believe Dr. Peles after hearing from Dr. Immerman and concluded the plaintiff was injured, awarding $70,000. Click here to read the entire Court's Minute Entry.

 

KEY DOCUMENTS FOR YOUR PRACTICE:  11.3 - Letter to fight refund demands. If you receive a refund demand, contact ACS. 34.1 -- Who Can an ARS 33-931 Lien Be Enforced Against, by PI attorney Steve Pincus.  Also: New PI/health insurance lien forms for health insurers that refuse to honor assignments of benefits. New liens grant more rights than county liens plus work in UM/UIM cases. Also, all new ASH Claims Denial Center with key analysis at 11.5.

 

BREAKING NEWS 02/03/12: Arizona Capitol Times publishes Dr. Immerman's "Stop Insurance Industry War On Patients Who Rely On Chiropractic Care." Click here to read. 

 

BREAKING NEWS 12/14/11: Press Conference on 12/13/11 great success in exposing ADOI, BCBS and ASH. Click here to read full report including links to newspaper articles and TV videos. Click here to read Media Release.

 

Most Read: Newsletter from MedicoLegal Services with reference for the best literature review journal study about biomechanics and injury mechanisms of whiplash. Click here for newsletter.

 

Most Read: ACS offers members group medical insurance which is guaranteed-issue. This means no medical questions asked! High quality Arizona insurer. Call ACS at 602-368-9496 for more information.

 

Most Read: Watch live testimony from the Legislature as Dr. Immerman arguesthat chiropractic should be included in health insurance. Click here to see video. Begin at the 50:30 minute mark.

 

 

Click here to join ACS or donate online with our live secure server. For a detailed description of each of the 60 valuable member benefits, click here.

 

 

Alan M. Immerman, D.C.

President and Executive Director