Governor Quinn and the legislators in Springfield have been faced with an impossible task: save the Illinois budget while preserving important programs. In order to save $2.7 billion, the legislators have raised the cigarette tax and cut 62 different programs amid great controversy.
As you can see on the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services Medicaid spending reductions worksheet, the 62 reduced or eliminated programs are listed. Adult chiropractic services are listed as spending reduction #7 and were eliminated, saving the state an estimated $884,500 per year. One wonders why this particular elimination was so important, since the overall elimination savings from all 62 programs add up to $1,600,063,100. At less than a million dollars of a $1.6 billion dollar savings project, adult chiropractic services are clearly no more than a drop in the proverbial bucket, and one of the smallest savings in the entire worksheet. For comparison purposes, glance at spending reduction #59: the savings included by using generic drugs instead of high cost name brand drugs are estimated at $77,700,000, or nearly 90 times as much savings. Even though the cost of adult chiropractic services have been minimal, and indeed an afterthought in previous Medicaid budgets due to the remarkably low reimbursements provided to chiropractors, we chiropractors have provided a vastly important resource to the state of Illinois in the area of musculoskeletal conditions. If a Medicaid patient has back or neck pain, for example, they have had three courses of action: 1) go to a medical doctor, 2) go to an emergency room, or 3) go to a chiropractor. The number of medical doctors accepting new Medicaid patients has been dwindling over recent years, making it possible that many Medicaid patients do not even have a primary care physician. If the Medicaid patient decides to go to an emergency room, their musculoskeletal problem will always wait until more severely injured patients are appropriately taken care of, causing wasted time and energy for all parties. If the Medicaid patient decided to come to a chiropractor, they could be assured of specific treatments for their musculoskeletal conditions, at a minimal cost to the state. However, now that adult chiropractic services have been eliminated from next year's Medicaid budget, those same patients have lost the least expensive and most helpful treatment option, forcing them to visit the emergency room or their primary care physician more often. And, indeed, the Illinois Chiropractic Society projects that this elimination will actually cost the state of Illinois more. (It is important to note that children's chiropractic services have not been eliminated.) Governor Quinn has said, "[Passage of this budget] is the first step toward saving Medicaid for those that rely upon it." Medicaid may have been saved, but those who rely upon it are losing treatment options quickly. Adult chiropractic services are not the only important service to be eliminated. Dental services have been eliminated for all Medicaid patients except in the case of emergencies (this is #6 on the Medicaid spending reduction worksheet). Governor Quinn celebrated the passage of his budget and cigarette tax by saying, “By working together to pass these bills, strong progress has been made in our mission to restructure Medicaid, so that it serves as a health and wellness system instead of a provider-payment system. As a result, our Medicaid system will continue to serve the millions of Illinois residents who rely on it." Johnson Family Chiropractic has been proud to serve the adult Medicaid population, and will continue to look for ways to make chiropractic care an affordable health care option for those who cannot afford anything else.
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You're a few weeks into your Chiropractic care and you're starting to feel better. You want to get back to your routine as soon as possible. There's a ton to do around the house, you've got a family to take care of and you can't wait to get back to the gym. You have an urgency to start 'living' again. Problem is… the paint's not quite dry yet. It's not uncommon to feel 'done' after a few adjustments. When the innate recuperative abilities of your body kick in, you might look and feel remarkably new – like a fresh coat of paint. But like a fresh coat of paint, looks can be deceiving. What seems completely dry (healed) on the surface may still have a few tacky areas underneath. If you jump the gun and try to re-hang the fixtures, you might ruin the finish and need to start all over again. Complete and thorough healing requires time. Even though you may feel like your old self after a few Chiropractic sessions, it's no green light to go back to your old activities. The stabilizing phase of care (where you feel so good you wonder why you're still coming in) is where all the 'paint curing' happens. Give your body the time it needs to completely dry and you'll be happier with the end results. Content provided by Principle33. "The soldier is the Army. No army is better than its soldiers. The soldier is also a citizen. In fact, the highest obligation and privilege of citizenship is that of bearing arms for one's country. Hence it is a proud privilege to be a soldier -- a good soldier. Anyone, in any walk of life, who is content with mediocrity is untrue to himself and to American tradition. To be a good soldier a man must have discipline, self-respect, pride in his unit and in his country, a high sense of duty and obligation to his comrades and to his superiors, and self-confidence born of demonstrated ability... "It is an unfortunate and, to me, tragic fact that, in our attempts to prevent war, we have taught our people to belittle the heroic qualities of the soldier. They do not realize that, as Shakespeare put it, the pursuit of 'The bubble reputation even at the cannon's mouth' is not only a good military characteristic, but also very helpful to the young man when bullets and shells are whistling and cracking around him. Much more could be done if the women of America would praise their heroes..." -- General George S. Patton, Jr., from his memoir "War As I Knew It" This video courtesy of Palmer College of Chiropractic.
The Illinois Medicaid budget is in crisis. As Governor Quinn looks to save services for Medicaid patients, he has been forced to resort to cutting or eliminating reimbursements for a wide variety of services. One of the proposed cuts is the elimination of chiropractic services to adult patients.
However, the Illinois Chiropractic Society has noted that the elimination of chiropractic services for adults will not be a cost-saving technique for the state, but will actually INCREASE the amount of money paid to health providers. How can this be? Here's a quote from a sample letter that you can send to your state legislators: "Medicaid reimbursements are only $8.67 a visit for chiropractic physicians, and according to HFS, the average Medicaid chiropractic patient received less than 10 visits in 2011. This means the entire course of treatments by a chiropractic physician is under $90. According to HFS FOIA responses, 103,039 Medicaid patients went to an Emergency Room last year for musculoskeletal concerns at a cost to the state of over $300 for the first day alone. "If only a fraction of those patients who went to the ER went to a chiropractic physician instead, it would save the state millions. On the other hand, by eliminating chiropractic as an option, many of the 19,861 Medicaid chiropractic patients will have to seek much more expensive providers. Cutting chiropractic physicians out of the Medicaid model will not even result in a short term savings, for those patients will just be forced to seek other providers, most likely Emergency Rooms, for their treatment." As one of the very few chiropractic offices in Peoria which serve the large, underserved, and growing Medicaid population, this is a very significant time. We need to let our legislators know that chiropractic services are important, vital, and cost-efficient. Please take a few moments to send your legislators an e-mail or letter and ask them to save chiropractic in the Illinois Medicaid budget. All our Medicaid patients thank you. UPDATE: This budget did pass without saving adult chiropractic services. |
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DisclaimerUnless otherwise attributed, all content is written by Kyle Johnson, DC, of Johnson Family Chiropractic of Peoria.
All images used are under Creative Commons license. Although every effort has been made to provide an accurate description of our chiropractic care and its benefits, the information given on this website and blog is not intended to be, nor should it be interpreted as, medical advice for any condition. If you have any questions regarding your condition, you should seek the help of Dr. Johnson in person, so that he may properly assess your condition. This blog is provided by Johnson Family Chiropractic of Peoria, S.C., proudly located in Peoria, IL. |