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Chiropractic’s Next Big Challenge

By |July 21, 2026|Announcement|

Chiropractic’s Next Big Challenge

The Chiro.Org Blog


Chiropractic’s Next Big Challenge

It’s time for us to lead the charge to help NIH see the need to fund Musculoskeletal research based on how much low-quality management of MSK care has cost our economy. It won’t last forever, just long enough to change the thinking on the ground, with Insurers and at the State and Federal levels.

READ THIS ARTICLE NOW!


Musculoskeletal Health: An Ecological Study Assessing Disease Burden and Research Funding
Lancet Reg Health Am 2024 (Jan 8): 29: 100661

Before undertaking this study, we conducted an extensive literature review to identify existing evidence related to the relationship between disease burden and research funding, particularly focusing on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) data.

Disease Burden is measured by 3 characteristics:

Disability-Adjusted Life Years   (DALYs),
Years Lived with Disability   (YLDs),
Years of Life Lost   (YLLs)

The goal was to gather insights into the existing body of knowledge surrounding disease burden and research funding disparities to inform our ecological study design and analysis methodology.

Implications of all the available evidence

Global health morbidity has shifted in recent decades from
communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional (CMNN) diseases to non-communicable diseases (NCDs). [1]

As death rates have declined, non-fatal injuries and NCDs have become a significant concern for health systems.

When rerviewing the 2019 disease burden (measured in DALYs) and 2021
NIH funding levels, 23.4% of funding variation were driven by DALYs.

A DALY (Disability-Adjusted Life Year) is a measure of health burden, including both reduction in life expectancy and diminished quality of life. More specifically, the DALY burden for a particular condition is the sum of YLL (years of life lost due to premature mortality) and YLD (years lost to disability).

However, in the 2021 NIH funding, all musculoskeletal diseases were underfunded, compared to their societal/economic burden, with low back pain receiving the least relative funding, at $496.4 million less funding than was predicted.

Predicted funding levels were derived to assess the adequacy of funding for various diseases. Subsequently, the ratios of actual to predicted 2021 NIH funding for diseases characterized as underfunded (where the ratio <1) were determined. Musculoskeletal diseases were underfunded relative to their disease burden, with neck pain receiving the least funding at 0.83% of the predicted amount.

Low back pain, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis were underfunded at 13.88%, 35.08%, and 66.26% of predicted amounts, respectively. To be commensurate with their actual total burden, funding for neck pain, low back pain, and osteoarthritis would need to increase 120–fold, 7–fold, and 3–fold, respectively.

There are more articles like this @

Spinal Pain Management Section

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Prior Authorization to be dropped by UnitedHealthcare

By |May 7, 2026|Announcement|

Prior Authorization to be dropped by UnitedHealthcare

The Chiro.Org Blog


SOURCE:  
American Chiropractic Association
Thu, May 7 at 9:39 AM

Media Contact:
Annette Bernat
abernat@acatoday.org
(703) 812­-0226




FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 7, 2026

American Chiropractic Association Comments on UnitedHealthcare Policy Change for Chiropractic Care

Arlington, Va. — American Chiropractic Association (ACA) President Kris Anderson, DC, released the following statement in response to UnitedHealthcare’s announcement this week that it would eliminate prior authorization for chiropractic care by the end of 2026:

“UnitedHealthcare’s decision to remove prior authorization for chiropractic services aligns well with ongoing efforts to reduce reliance on prescription opioid pain medications, especially for common musculoskeletal conditions. When used at the onset of an episode of spine-related pain, chiropractic services offer an evidence-based, non-drug approach for pain management that research has shown not only to alleviate pain and improve function but also to reduce costly downstream healthcare services such as surgery, hospitalization and ER visits.”

About the American Chiropractic Association

The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) is the largest professional chiropractic organization in the United States. ACA attracts the most principled and accomplished chiropractors, who understand that it takes more to be called an ACA chiropractor. We are leading our profession in the most constructive and far-reaching ways — by working hand in hand with other health care professionals, by lobbying for pro-chiropractic legislation and policies, by supporting meaningful research, and by using that research to inform our treatment practices. We also provide professional and educational opportunities for all our members and are committed to being a positive and unifying force for the practice of modern chiropractic. To learn more, visit acatoday.org

Our Blog is a Tool. Learn How to Use It Now

By |September 17, 2024|Announcement|

Our Blog is a Tool.
Learn How to Use It Now

The Chiro.Org Blog


A Chiro.Org Editorial


Every Blog post is an announcement of new material that was just added to one of our many Sections.

I have been compiling (and archiving) peer-reviewed articles since early 1996, and to date we have thousands of Abstracts, and many hundreds of Full-Text articles on a wide variety of subjects.

When enough material, relating to a particular topic was collected,
it was gathered into a new Topical Page in one of our many Sections.

Each Topical page is located in the Section most associated with that topic.
Thus, our Attention Deficit Page is located (is a part of) our Pediatrics Section
You get the idea.

Almost ALL of our Sections contain some, or many Topical collections.
The LINKS Section is the most extreme example, because it contains 86 different topical pages.


All of the following are “active” Sections that are
constantly adding new (and important) materials:

Acupuncture
Alternative Healing Abstracts
Case Studies
Chiropractic Assistants
Chiropractic Research
Chronic Neck Pain
Conditions That Respond Well
Cost-Effectiveness of Chiropractic
Documentation
Global Burden of Disease
Headache and Chiropractic
Initial Provider/First Contact and Chiropractic
The LINKS
Low Back Pain and Chiropractic
Medicare Info
Non-pharmacologic Therapy and Chiropractic
Nutrition
Pediatrics
Radiology
The SEARCH Section
Stroke and Chiropractic
What is the Chiropractic Subluxation?
Whiplash and Chiropractic


These other Sections are “archival” in nature, and contain valuable tools:

Chiropractic History
ChiroZine
Free Images
New DC’s
Office Forms
R.C. Schafer’s Rehab Monographs
The Wilk Antitrust Lawsuit


How Blog Posts Work

The following is a Graphic “screen grab” of a Blog Post from our Home Page.
(more…)

House Reintroduces Bill to Modernize Medicare’s Chiropractic Coverage

By |April 22, 2021|Announcement|

House Reintroduces Bill to Modernize Medicare’s Chiropractic Coverage




Arlington, Va. – The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) is pleased to announce that bipartisan legislation to modernize Medicare coverage of chiropractic services was reintroduced April 19 in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Chiropractic Coverage Modernization Act (H.R. 2654), introduced by Rep. Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.), would increase Medicare coverage of services provided by doctors of chiropractic within the full extent of their state licensure, enabling chiropractic patients to conveniently and safely access additional covered services that may be medically necessary. The change would also align Medicare with chiropractic coverage offered in many private health and Medicare Advantage plans.

Originally introduced in 2019, the bill gained traction in the last congressional session, picking up over 90 cosponsors. Sixteen of those members have signed on as original cosponsors of H.R. 2654: Reps. Jason Smith (R-Mo.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), John Larson (D-Conn.), Thomas Suozzi (D-N.Y.), Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.), Cynthia Axne (D-Iowa), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), Jefferson Van Drew (R-N.J.), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.), Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), Don Bacon (R-Neb.), Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.), John Joyce (R-Pa.), Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) and Chellie Pingree (D-Maine).

“We applaud Rep. Higgins and the cosponsors for their support of modernizing Medicare’s chiropractic coverage to meet the needs of today’s beneficiaries, who should not only be able to choose their provider but also access necessary covered services conveniently and safely during these challenging times,” said ACA President Michele Maiers, DC, MPH, PhD.

The opioid crisis, which has worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, has further heightened the need for Medicare beneficiaries to have access to the chiropractic profession’s broad-based, nondrug approach to pain management, which includes manual manipulation of the spine and extremities, evaluation and management services, diagnostic imaging, and utilization of other nondrug therapies and modalities.

Since 1972, Medicare beneficiaries have been covered for only one chiropractic service—manual manipulation of the spine—forcing them to access additional medically necessary care from other types of providers or to pay out of pocket for the services from their chiropractor. Chiropractors are the only physician-level providers in the Medicare program whose services are restricted in this manner.

To learn more and to urge your member of Congress to support this important legislation, visit www.HR2654.org.


About the American Chiropractic Association

The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) is the largest professional chiropractic organization in the United States. ACA attracts the most principled and accomplished chiropractors, who understand that it takes more to be called an ACA chiropractor. We are leading our profession in the most constructive and far-reaching ways–by working hand in hand with other health care professionals, by lobbying for pro-chiropractic legislation and policies, by supporting meaningful research and by using that research to inform our treatment practices. We also provide professional and educational opportunities for all our members and are committed to being a positive and unifying force for the practice of modern chiropractic. To learn more, visit www.acatoday.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram