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TCA Protecting and Promoting Chiropractic on the Hill in 2025
The new 114th General Assembly convened on Tuesday, January 14 setting to work on a full agenda of items ranging from Hurricane Helene disaster response to taxes to education, just to name a few. The Tennessee Chiropractic Association welcomed senators and representatives from all across Tennessee as they gathered at the capitol.
The swearing in of this general assembly marked the continuation of Republican super majorities in both the House and Senate with the GOP controlling 75 of the 99 seats in the lower chamber and 27 seats in the 33-member Senate. Among the first orders of business was re-electing the speakers of each chamber. Rep. Cameron Sexton won his third full term in charge of the House, while Sen. Randy McNally was elected to his fifth term leading the Senate.
Chiropractic maintained many of our champions who will be key to our success this year. Rep. Brock Martin, DC, who was re-elected by his District 79 constituents, celebrated the day with his wife, Dr. Krista Martin, their son and newborn daughter.
Rep. Martin’s strong leadership has once again led to his appointment to several key committees, which are the first to consider vital legislation. His roles will include serving as a member of the House Insurance Committee and Commerce Committee, as well as the significant leadership role as Chairman of the Health Subcommittee.
Your TCA lobbying team is hard at work on “the Hill”. Since the adjournment of session last spring, we have been strengthening our efforts, participating in meetings with legislators, state administrators, other health provider groups and interest groups to build on our momentum and foster consensus for our legislative agenda. Things will likely move at a fast pace this session, as has become the norm, and so our readiness and your early involvement is fundamental to our successes this year.
Each legislative session, thousands of bills are brought by interest groups that have the potential to positive and negatively impact the chiropractic profession and your bottom line. The TCA quickly works through each and every one of these bills to see how they might impact our members, while at the same time, working our pro-active legislative agenda.
We anticipate there will again be scope bills as well as a large amount of bills impacting healthcare and insurance, plus caption bills and other bills that could impact the business of healthcare.
In addition to our TCA pro-active efforts in 2025, we are prepared to play defense on all proposed legislation that has the potential to negatively affect you and your patients. Nationally, we continue to monitor legislative developments impacting chiropractic as well.
TCA Members: Login here for Advocacy Tools & Issue Briefs. Plus, watch for updates on TCA’s 2025 legislative efforts in your member e-newsletter, Doctor Privilege.
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Do you know your Senator and Representative?
Contact them and let them know you can be their resource on matters impacting chiropractic care and your community. Inform the TCA of your legislative connections!
Click here to find your legislators!
National Legislative Efforts: Act to Impact Medicare Modernization Act
National Legislation Reintroduced to Improve Access to Chiropractic Services
Bipartisan legislation to allow patients to have life-changing access to Medicare coverage of chiropractic services has been reintroduced and is gaining support in the U.S. Congress.
U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) reintroduced the Chiropractic Medicare Coverage Modernization Act, which would expand Medicare coverage of chiropractic services to ensure patients enrolled in the program can access care as a non-drug alternative for pain management. Additionally, it would expand Medicare coverage to include x-rays and other diagnostic services needed to determine and prescribe appropriate chiropractic treatments.
The TCA will be sharing updated doctor and patient resources & easy email templates once they are available to help in supporting this effort!
Back the TCA PAC Fund
The TCA PAC supports candidates running for State House or Senate, and helps to strengthen current relationships that are invaluable to the future of the profession in Tennessee.
2024 is an election year. We MUST show support to legislators who champion chiropractic efforts. But, we need PAC funds to make this possible.
TCA Membership Dues At Work For You!
Member support enables a long list of TCA accomplishments such as the valuable work mentioned above. Think of how much more we could do if we had the support of all licensed DCs in TN…
The TCA has a responsibility to our members as the only voice for doctors of chiropractic in Tennessee and we use that platform to relentlessly advocate for good public policy. We need a strong effort moving forward to address the ongoing insurance inequities and defense to our scope, among other TCA objectives.
For roughly the cost of one dinner out a month, TN doctors who are not currently members can join and show their support plus, reap a wealth of benefits.
TCA Chiropractic Advocacy Resources
Why is the TCA Unique When it Comes to Lobbying?
Our legislators as decision-makers do not always have experience or access to information on how their constituents and patients of chiropractic might be affected. It is our job as chiropractic advocates to educate our elected officials and be certain that they have the information they need to make the best decisions possible.
There is no shortage of paid lobbyists and special interests groups who aggressively try to influence Tennessee legislators; however, the TCA is the only statewide association advocating for chiropractic in the midst of numerous lobbyists for other provider groups, business interests, insurers and others. While our strong team of TCA lobbyists speaks out for chiropractic on “the Hill”, state legislators are most responsive to their constituents – people who vote in their districts. They also feel the need to know that a specific issue is a priority in their community, and it takes the people who live and work in the community to sway them.
Why is Lobbying Necessary?
The Tennessee Chiropractic Association encourages informed and active participation in government, with the aim to ensure that chiropractic physicians’ voices are an important part of political dialogue on issues impacting the profession.
As sessions become more and more fast-paced, we cannot be guaranteed that legislators have had the opportunity to fully review every bill that comes before them for their vote. It is our job as chiropractic advocates to educate our elected officials and be certain that they have the information they need to make the best decisions possible.
Legislators Need to Hear from You
Tennessee’s state senators and representatives come from diverse backgrounds; many are not healthcare experts and may have no chiropractic experience, yet they must vote on these issues when a bill comes before them. As a healthcare expert, you are uniquely qualified to help your elected representatives understand the practical implications of healthcare policy proposals. It is vital that legislators hear from you.
Click here to find your legislators.
What Can I Do?
It is the TCA’s goal to promote and secure passage of our legislative objectives by the state’s legislators. To focus the tremendous grassroots power of the chiropractic profession, your TCA has developed a Legislative Ambassador network. The aim of the program is to ensure that each and every member of the General Assembly has continual contact with, and input from, his/her local Doctors of Chiropractic. If you have a personal or good working relationship with one of Tennessee’s House or Senate Members or would like to initiate one, we want to know as this can be critical in the communication process to urgent legislative issues. The goal is never threaten or antagonize, but to build a relationship and influence discussion on the basis of your knowledge and understanding of the issue.