We all are guilty of it, creatures of habit, I guess. Often, we may do something throughout the day or week that has little relevance or meaning to life. Whether it is mind-numbing surfing the internet or social media, or sitting in front of the television for hours on end. Watching or doing things that have little practical importance or long-term relevance may be some type of reprieve from the daily stress that we often experience. However, what will any of that mean in 100 years? Probably nothing.  

Enter chiropractic, and by extension, the NCPA! The care we provide can truly be a revelation to many, impacting their health for many, many years to come. I can remember a patient who had chronic pain for almost a year, taking several pain medications for this condition. One adjustment later and 90 percent of their pain was gone. Two adjustments later and virtually all of their pain was gone. That doesn’t happen the same way with every patient, but we all have seen these types of cases. These patients have been given a gift, the gift of chiropractic. They are able to do more, to serve more, and be more because of the care our profession provides. As evidenced by the success that we have with patients and the type of services we provide, it is patently obvious that our great profession most certainly will mean something in 100 years. 

Even governmental agencies and other professional bodies are recommending conservative management options, like chiropractic care, as treatment approaches to deal with a myriad of painful musculoskeletal conditions. This fact has assisted our profession, and even here locally in Nebraska, in becoming an ever-increasing, viable option for inclusion in programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and VA services. 

Your NCPA has a goal to continue advancing the chiropractic profession here in Nebraska. Every action your association takes is focused on supporting our doctors and educating our communities regarding the importance of chiropractic care. From our advertisements in multiple venues to our work with Senators and governmental leaders, and from our top notch CE events to providing outreach to doctors throughout the state, you can rest assured that your NCPA is dedicated to helping you, and what you do every day, in helping intervene in the patients that need us. 

Your NCPA looks forward to working side-by-side with you in doing more, and being more, in efforts to intervene and be true change agents in our patients' health. Thank you for helping your NCPA do so many things that will actually mean something in 100 years and beyond and thank you for serving our communities through chiropractic.  

As part of our ongoing growth and development, SecureCare is in the process of updating its mission statement, values and core objectives, as follows:

Mission Statement: Reinvent healthcare network management.

Values: Simple. Efficient. Fair.

Core Objectives:

  - Eliminate prior authorizations

  - Reduce administration burden

  - Improve relationships

  - Protect patients and providers

We believe these updates are clean, crisp, and quickly convey the focus of our work. They also better reflect SecureCare’s expansion into other disciplines, such as physical therapy. Additionally, they communicate our firm commitment to consumer protection. Overutilization creates a serious financial strain on hard-working people and families. Our efforts to ensure clinically appropriate care is delivered, helping to reassure patients that they are not victims of revenue maximization business models.

The SecureCare website is in the process of being updated with new content and videos which explain our mission statement, values and core objectives. So, you are the first to know. Stay tuned.

Relationships are a vital part of our lives; once we understand that, we can use relationships to help advance ourselves. Quarterback Aaron Rogers once said, "Surround yourself with really good people. I think that's an important thing. Because the people you surround yourself with are a reflection of you."

A very compelling statement when you step back to think about it: you control who you surround yourself with and, more importantly, who you choose to remove from your circle of influence. You can change yourself with the relationships you choose to develop and to surround you. These relationships directly impact how you act, think, and feel.

Our relationships are meaningful from a personal perspective but also a business perspective. For example, I have talked to many doctors struggling to take the next steps to grow their practice. They often knew what to do, but something held them back. Usually, it was a mindset that they could not take the next step. They lacked the appropriate relationships necessary to grow and the confidence to move forward. Making the required changes by adding or removing connections from your circle can give you the confidence to take the next step.

As you work toward your goal or dream, identify others who have achieved a vision similar to yours. It does not have to be a chiropractor. Maybe a banker, a business leader, or an entrepreneur who has taken the steps you need to take. It may be another business you utilize in your practice life. Adding these individuals and businesses will change your outlook and give you the confidence and support to take the next step.

If you have not taken the time to evaluate the relationships surrounding you, now is a great time to step back and ask yourself who you know and how this relationship can help you. When you are ready to move to the next level, surround yourself with people that will help get you there.

Fall convention came and went, but it was a busy and enjoyable time! Over 260 doctors attended, plus 30 chiropractic assistants, which is average for the first convention in the renewal cycle.

The event had an interesting array of speakers and exhibitors, plus award recognitions at the NCPA Annual Business meeting and four social events. Event highlights and sponsors are featured below.

We look forward to the spring convention scheduled at the Embassy Suites La Vista Conference Center on March 9-12, 2022. Hope you will make plans to join us!

As fall approaches, the NCPA is currently evaluating the legislative priorities for the 2023 session. In the interim, we continue to meet with Nebraska Unicameral candidates to evaluate their knowledge of and feelings about chiropractic while educating them about our great profession. 

As a part of this, I ask that all of our members become involved in some way. If you know a candidate, please share that information with the NCPA. If you have other information about a candidate and their feelings regarding chiropractic, please let us know that as well. If you would like to be our primary contact point for a current Senator or a candidate, we would welcome your involvement. Having points of contact with each Senator that they trust can be a tremendous boost to our legislative efforts. 

If you don’t know a candidate that doesn’t mean you can not help! Reach out to the candidates in your district and find out more about them, find out how they will vote, find out what they stand for and find out how they feel about chiropractic and then most importantly, VOTE! 

People often complain that they don’t have a better scope of practice, or better tax laws or any number of other issues. These are the people that make those things happen and we have a chance to help decide who makes those decisions. Some of these races are decided by very small margins, so your vote makes a difference, but if you don’t feel that voting is enough, then do more!

If you find a good candidate- tell your friends, make a donation or join their campaign efforts! I also continue to urge chiropractors to donate to the NCPA PAC. These funds are used to open doors to educate our current and future leaders….the ones that decide how your practice and your business will operate. It’s important that we all do our part to continue to pave the way for chiropractic here in Nebraska. The November election is only a few weeks away and I encourage you to do what you can to help, and then VOTE! 

As always, a big thank you to everyone who has donated to the NCPA PAC this year, whether as a monthly donation or by giving a one-time amount. We will never say no to any donation, but in a perfect world, becoming a monthly donor gives us the best ability to budget ahead when we are in election season and the requests for money come at us in clusters.

If you are not currently donating to the PAC, our challenge this year is to get every NCPA member to give just $50 a month (the cost of one adjustment). The money that goes into the PAC is so important when it comes to protecting our rights and abilities to practice chiropractic in this great state, and we want to always be able to be proactive so that we are never caught by surprise. I know to most of you, it feels like we would never be in jeopardy here, but some of our colleagues in other states did not see their fights coming until it landed right on their doorsteps.

Remember, the money you give today allows our state association to maintain open lines of communication with the Senators who essentially control our ability to do what we do now and into the future. Your small donation might not seem like much, but all of those small donations together make a massive impact!

If you ever have any questions about where or how the PAC money is used, please don't hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected], and we can walk through the process together.  

Have you heard of the “No Surprises Act?” Did you know there are a number of rules that apply to chiropractic offices? Did you know you were required to start complying in January of 2022?

If you attended the August convention, you likely heard all about it and learned how you can be compliant. If you did not attend, there are new rules this year to protect patients from surprise medical billing. It is highly recommended that you start researching and working toward compliance to avoid fines or being forced to reduce patient bills.

These new rules now apply primarily to cash patients, those choosing not to use their chiropractic benefits through their insurance, and those that have no chiropractic coverage. You can find all the information on the NCPA website in the Member Resources section after signing in. The NCPA has provided the information and even the forms needed to be compliant. I highly encourage you take advantage of the information provided to avoid issues in your office.

There is also one important clarification to share with all of you. As announced at the August convention, the No Surprises Act does not apply to Medicare or Medicaid beneficiaries. There was some initial thought that you were required to comply with on Medicare non-covered services such as exams, X-rays and therapies. Earlier this year, we submitted a request for clarification to CMS and they recently responded to clarify that the rules do not apply to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. We have that clarification in writing should any of you require it in the future.

Please take the time to use the resources provided by the NCPA and make sure your office is compliant with these new rules.

Our last Board of Chiropractic meeting was held on Wednesday, June 1, 2022, at the State Office Building. The current members of the Board of Chiropractic include:

·        Scott Misek, DC – Board Chairman

·        Heather Henrichs, DC – Vice Chair

·        Brian Stevens, DC – Secretary

·        David Henske – Public Member 

Licensure update: As of August 1, 2022, we began a new two-year licensure cycle. We had a lot of last-minute renewals come in and we would encourage you to renew your license in a timely manner.

As of this report, we have eight licensees that have not renewed their professional license.

As a reminder, all licensed chiropractors must complete at least 36 hours of acceptable continuing education during the preceding 24-month period. These hours include eight (8) mandatory hours. Four hours related to technical skills (Category 1) and four hours related to practice issues (Category 2).

Executive Orders update: Executive Order 22-02 extends orders 21-12 and 21-15 through September 30, 2022. Executive order 22-15 applies directly to the Chiropractic profession in that it allows a chiropractor to be issued a provisional license pending the results of their examination. Chiropractors will still need to meet the continuing educational requirements for renewal; however, the department will not be enforcing the limit on the number of hours completed by home study or virtual methods. Additionally, there is a CE waiver available for circumstances outside the control of the individual, which prevents them from completed the CE requirements. 

Regulations update: The Board of Chiropractic is continuing to go through the process of increasing the number of on-line continuing education hours from six (currently) to ten. The increase in on-line hours will give providers more flexibility to earn their continuing education hours. These hours will not count toward the mandated hours requirement. 

Additionally, there is proposed language change to DHHS regulations, Title 172, Chapter 29, Section 008. 

Current Regulation: A chiropractor or chiropractic physician who accepts a patient for any professional reason has a duty and responsibility to perform an appropriate clinical evaluation on that patient for the purpose of assessing the patient’s current health status or identify if the patient is a proper subject for chiropractic care. Such a clinical evaluation may involve diagnostic procedures which aid in arriving at a clinical impression. The diagnostic procedures may include, but are not limited to, urine and blood analysis and diagnostic imaging.

Proposed Regulation: A chiropractor or chiropractic physician who accepts a patient for any professional reason has a duty and responsibility to (1) perform an appropriate clinical evaluation on that patient for the purpose of assessing the patient’s current health status or (2) identify if the patient is a proper subject for chiropractic care. Such a clinical evaluation may involve a physical or clinical examination or other diagnostic procedure which aids in arriving at a clinical impression or an assessment of the patient’s current health status. The diagnostic procedures may include, but are not limited to, urine and blood analysis and diagnostic imaging.

Upcoming BOC meetings for 2022: October 19, 2022. All meetings take place at 9:00 am and are located in the Nebraska State Office Building in Lincoln. 

The Nebraska State Board of Health met at the State Office Building in Lincoln on Monday, September 19. We were joined by two new members who replaced those who recently resigned, a registered nurse member from Omaha and a family physician from Lincoln. 

One of the major items of business was final consideration of an application by the optometrists to expand their scope of practice to include the use of Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty. SLT is an in-office procedure used to relieve intraocular pressure resulting from glaucoma. The procedure has been used for several years by ophthalmologists and by optometrists in several other states. 

The optometric scope expansion was opposed by the ophthalmologists and the Nebraska Medical Association, citing inadequate education and lack of training on the part of the optometrists. The optometric proposal includes a training and certification requirement before optometrists could perform the procedure. 

The three-level review process within the Board of Health resulted in very different conclusions by each body. Prior to our meeting, the Technical Review Committee tasked with reviewing the proposal had voted against approval. The proposal then went to the Credentialing Review Committee (of which I am a member) of the Board of Health, which voted to approve the request. Consideration by the full Board of Health then resulted in a tie vote. The next step is a review by the Director of Health, who can approve, disapprove, or amend the proposal in any way. I don’t recall that a proposal, has had three different outcomes at each level of review. 

Additionally, Anita Menousek, a chiropractic limited radiographer, was appointed to the Limited Radiographer position on the Board of Medical Radiography. Congratulations to Anita, and thanks to all chiropractic radiographers who applied!

The next meeting of the Board is on Monday, November 14. If you have any questions or comments regarding Board of Health, contact me at [email protected].

2022 has been a great year so far for promoting chiropractic throughout the state. From sporting and community events to advertising and social media, we’ve hit almost every patient demographic with a broad reach! Here are the highlights:

National Chiropractic Health Month

A special thank you to Governor Pete Ricketts for acknowledging the importance of conservative care by signing a proclamation on Monday, October 3, 2022, declaring October as National Chiropractic Health Month (NCHM) in Nebraska!

The following members have joined since Spring 2022:

Benjamin Behrens, Student

Zachary Bloemker, Student

Brianna Boyer, Student

Sean Connor, DC

Patrick Determan, DC

Lawrence Donnelly, Student

Ronald Evans, DC

Jay Ferguson, DC

Samantha Funk, Student

Alex Habeger, DC

Helena Jorgenson, Student

Shelby Lafler, DC

Eric Luke, DC

Tyler Musgrave, Student

Conor Penington, Student

Jessica Sahm, Student

Parker Struebing, DC

Troy Thramer, DC

Kayla Till, Student

Mark Uhlir, Student

Gregory Wheeler, DC

Calvin Weiss, DC

SPRING 2023

March 9-12, 2023

Embassy Suites La Vista

La Vista, Nebraska

FALL 2023

August 10-13, 2023

Younes Conference Center

Kearney, Nebraska