Legislators rely on stakeholder input to understand how proposed policies will affect their communities. Data is essential, but when it comes to matters of health care especially, firsthand perspectives from patients can help lawmakers connect policy to the real world. Your lived experiences – the positive outcomes you have experienced from chiropractic treatment – offer local context that the national data can miss, which is why your representatives need to hear from you directly. Additionally, your voice reminds your elected officials that you feel the impact of decisions made in Washington.
Members of the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) will head to Capitol Hill this month to lobby on behalf of their patients for greater access to chiropractic services. Coming from all over the country, these chiropractors will share research as well as their own lived experiences as healthcare providers with members of Congress to help them understand the value of chiropractic’s non-drug approache to pain management. To support them in this endeavor, make sure your member of Congress hears from you too, and keep chiropractic increasingly visible in Washington.
Through ACA’s VoterVoice portal, advocacy is accessible and targeted. You can make your voice heard by your representatives in Congress without traveling to Washington, D.C. Credible, coordinated, and timely engagement from stakeholders who are directly affected by policy decisions can cut through all the noise in the legislative environment. By participating in VoterVoice actions online, you can ensure your thoughts are part of the policymaking conversation.
Act Now to Ensure Improved Access to Chiropractic for Seniors
Congress is considering a bill, introduced last year, that would modernize chiropractic coverage under Medicare. With healthcare expected to take the center stage spotlight in the upcoming weeks in Washington, there is no better time to share your perspective on the value of chiropractic care with your representatives, and by urging them to support this bill (H.R.539). By doing so, you can help ensure that chiropractic remains central during healthcare policy development.
Stay informed and use tools such as VoterVoice to make your voice heard where it counts most.
Click here: Now is the time to take action!
Written by Emma Meehan, associate manager of federal government relations at the American Chiropractic Association.
