Board of Directors

September 26, 2002

Minutes

 

 

The following are informative minutes of the September 26, 2002 meeting of the WCA Board of Directors. Please note that these minutes may not cover all of the subjects discussed or motions passed by the board. The portion of the minutes dealing with confidential attorney-client communications, personnel issues, legislative strategies, communications with legislators, communications with government employees, political contribution strategies and specific complaints or information about individual practitioners is considered confidential by the board. WCA members may obtain detailed minutes by contacting the WCA office.

 

The meeting was called to order at 9:00 a.m. by WCA President Sherry Walker, DC at the Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells. Members absent Drs. Masche and Steele.

 

Motion: Moved by McMahon, seconded by Henrichs to approve the minutes of the August 1, 2002 meeting. Motion carried.

 

Motion: Moved by Varish, seconded by Scherer to approve the following:

 

Applicants seeking regular membership:     

 

Shannon R. Buyarski, DC                      Chilton

Todd P. Mortensen, DC                         Glenwood City

Susan J. Robinson, DC                          Oregon

           

Applicants seeking student membership:    

 

            Steven D. Crotteau                                Northwestern

            Robert L. Gehrung                                National

 

Motion carried.

 

Motion: Moved by Lyne, seconded by Davis to approve the following:

 

Jim Doyle Presentation

 

Attorney General Jim Doyle made an impressive presentation to the board about the issues that he thought were important to this year’s gubernatorial race. The comments that drew the attention of the board were those focused on the chiropractic profession as follows.

 

  • It was a mistake for Governor McCallum to veto the point of service legislation. Doyle believes that as a matter of principle consumers should have the freedom of choice. Moreover, at a time when health care costs are escalating, options which do not come at the expense of employers should be encouraged, not discouraged.
  • There will have to be major changes in the way the state and small businesses purchase health care insurance. One of his ideas is to create multi-state purchasing pools so that health care costs can be restrained. In response to a direct question, Attorney General Doyle stated that under his administration chiropractic care would be included in all group health plans.
  • He spoke of the importance of preventative care and the fact that the chiropractic profession was one of those professions that clearly did a great job in offering preventative services. He also spoke how he will emphasize nutrition and, once again, complimented the fact that our profession was at the forefront of those health care professions that understand its importance.
  • It is time for serious reform of the Insurance Commissioner’s Office. As Attorney General he is supposed to receive recommendations to prosecute any insurance company that breaks the law. Over the law few years his office has received few, if any, referrals from OCI. He believes that consumers have a right to receive all of the insurance coverage for which they are paying.
  • He also spoke about the importance of strong working relationships between the WCA and the state and pledged his support to insure that our voice was heard on all of the issues that impacted the chiropractic profession.

 

Motion: Moved by Lyne, seconded by Henrichs to approve the following speakers and topics subject to executing satisfactory contracts.

 

speaker

topic

Dana Lawrence, DC

Diversified Extravertebral technique

Arlan Fuhr, DC

Activator Methods

Steven Marini, DC

Vaccine issue; patients attend Sat

Andrew Jetter, DC

Explore Chiropractic in the workplace; Co-sponsorship with Hessco

G. Douglas Anderson, DC

Nutrition-Obesity and weight loss

David Brady, DC

Accelerating Allergy pathways in blood sugar; Thyroid disorders;

Fibromyalgia Syndrome

Scott Banks, DC

Headache topic

Tim Mick, DC

Working on lining this DC up

X-ray

 

Motion carried.

 

Insurance Commissioner Rulemaking on Managed Care

 

The Insurance Commissioner has proposed rules OCI would have the authority to determine what constitutes “substantial coverage” for services by nonparticipating providers in PPO plans. The WCA will work closely with the Assembly health committee to monitor this rule so that chiropractors are not disadvantaged by this language.

 

Solutions Conference

 

The board discussed the concept of a “Solutions Conference” as a special committee of the board to discuss the WCA’s 2003 legislative agenda. This conference would be an outgrowth of the Future of Chiropractic article that appeared in the January 2002 issue of the Wisconsin Chiropractor.

 

Motion: Moved by Varish, seconded by Henrichs to approve offering a Solutions Conference. Motion carried.

 

The Wisconsin ChiropractorAdvertising Policies

 

The board discussed the policies of the association regarding the differentiation of pricing for ads in different business categories. The board did not make any changes to current policy.

 

ACA

 

The board reviewed a letter from ACA President in which he declined to make a presentation to this year’s convention based on the number of attendees likely to attend his presentation.

 

Animal Adjusting

 

The board discussed the implications of animal adjusting and the importance of having the proper education and training to diagnose diseases in animal populations. The legislature is very sensitive to the risks to the dairy industry if chiropractors are allowed to treat animals without guidance from veterinarians.

 

Motion: Moved by McMahon, seconded by Baker to negotiate rules that allow chiropractors to treat animals under the written prescription of a veterinarian but without requiring the presence of the vet. Motion carried.