Chiropractic Is an Essential Service

An “Essential Service” is a healthcare service that will be guaranteed coverage under the “bare bones” health insurance plan going into effect in 2014 (you know, the one you are going to switch to because it will be cheapest…)  All other (non-essential) services will not be a part of the core plan, and thus you would have to pay either a substantial deductible for it or it would not be covered at all.  All the other core plans, the non-“Cadillac” plans, will follow suit, covering only “essential services”. Chiropractic should be an essential service.

Back pain, joint pain, spinal health, and health in general from a chiropractic perspective are essential needs for human beings.  Recovering from injuries in simple, non-drug and non-surgical methods is already important to the aging bulk of our population, as well as the young workers entering the scene – it will continue to be –  essential.  Chiropractic should at least be an option, not an unaffordable “boutique” service.

What is “Chiropractic”? Is it limited to only a particular adjustment, and is that all it is? Or, is it an entire profession, with multiple modalities, strategies and treatment plans available to you?  Why would “Chiropractic” be any less essential then “Physical Therapy”, or “Orthopedics”?   The answer is, it isn’t. The truth is, we are talking about ‘big-bucks” territoriality here. The Question-of-the-Day is going to be, will chiropractic be able to afford lobbyists to protect your access to care? Will you help yourself by speaking up?

Basically, if you allow chiropractic to be characterized as a non-essential service, by not speaking up, you will be limited in your choice of care. Alternative methods will simply not be available to you without significant expense.  Insurance will be taken out of your paycheck automatically, but you won’t be able to use it the way you want to use it.  Chiropractic should be considered an essential service. Think about this, and talk to me about it at your next appointment!