Category — News

I received this email from the ACA (American Chiropractic Association) this week.  Please invest 5 minutes and let your voice be heard in regard to this important healthcare issue.

Dear Chiropractic Supporter:

The new health care reform law enacted by Congress (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) requires health insurance plans to adhere to a broad new set of consumer protections.  However, some health insurance plans will be allowed to “escape” having to provide these new consumer-friendly protections because they will be granted what is called “grandfathered” status under recently released regulations.

The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) supports the adoption of regulations that would restrict the use of this “loophole” and extend the important consumer protections to as many patients as possible.

As a citizen you are allowed to submit formal comments to the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on this important issue — AND WE URGE YOU TO DO SO IMMEDIATELY…

DOING SO IS SIMPLE AND EASY.  HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO DO…

1. ACA has prepared a template for your own comments.   Click here to use this template.  Read ACA’s comments here.
2. Save your document in either a Word of pdf format.
3. We urge you to submit comments to HHS electronically using the “Attach a file” option under the box in Step 2 of the HHS comments website.  You may also mail your comments to the address on the template.  All comments mailed and sent electronically must be received by HHS by Monday, August 16th.  Therefore, if your comments are mailed, please make sure they are sent no later than Wednesday, August 11th.

By speaking up now, you will be helping to counter the efforts of those powerful and well –financed insurance plans that wish to avoid adopting the full range of consumer protections included as part of the new law.

You can copy and paste the following section into the comment box (Section 2) and simply add the date and your name at the end:

[INSERT DATE]

Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight

Department of Health and Human Services

Attention: OCIIO–9991–IFC

P.O. Box 8016

Baltimore, MD 21244–1850

Re:  Interim Final Rule for Group Health Plans and Health Insurance Coverage Relating to Status as a Grandfathered Health Plan Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

As a consumer and chiropractic patient I wish to take this opportunity to formally comment on the interim final rule regarding health plans and “grandfather” status (Document ID IRS-2010-0010-0001).

I believe the consumer protections included as part of the new health care law are vitally important and should be extended to as many people as possible.  Accordingly, every effort should be made to increase the number of individuals covered by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) via the above regulations.  The triggers or conditions that would extend these protections to consumers under currently existing “grandfathered” plans should not be weakened or reduced in any way.  I specifically support the position and detailed comments offered by the American Chiropractic Association with respect to the implementation of these regulations.

[INSERT NAME]

Thanks so much for your support!

The Spectrum Wellness healthcare team needs to recharge our “batteries”!  So… our office will be closed for vacation from Saturday, August 14th through Sunday August 22nd.  We will resume normal office hours at 9:00 am on Monday, August 23rd.  Please plan your care schedule accordingly.

We are looking forward to a relaxing and fun-filled vacation… but are also looking forward to returning with more energy and mental clarity to serve you better.

I recently attended a continuing education seminar, where I learned some very important information on the toxic effect of mercury on the human body.  Mercury toxicity is more common that you may think.  You may be surprised to find that mercury is used in:

• Thimerosal – a preservative used in the flu vaccine (and possibly other vaccines)
• CFLs – compact fluorescent light bulbs (mercury is released if broken)
• HFCS – high fructose corn syrup (mercury is used in the manufacturing process of HFCS)

Check out the following links and come to your own conclusions…

Mercury’s Effect on the Nervous System

Here is a link to an incredible video from the University of Calgary showing how a very small amount of mercury causes neurologic damage.  NOTE: the amount of mercury shown in this study to cause nerve damage was diluted to:

• 10 -7 moles of mercury = .0000001 mole of mercury
• The amount of mercury allowed in flu vaccines = .1246 moles (25 mcg) of mercury.  Thimerosal is a preservative used in the flu vaccine which is around 50% mercury by weight.

http://commons.ucalgary.ca/mercury/

Thimerosal

http://www.fda.gov/biologicsbloodvaccines/safetyavailability/…

http://www.vaccinesafety.edu/components-Allergens.htm

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/thimerosal/index.html

CFLs

http://www.epa.gov/cfl/cflcleanup.html

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=cfls.pr_cfls_mercury

HFCS

http://www.ehjournal.net/content/8/1/2

http://www.healthobservatory.org/library.cfm?refid=105026

What you can do:

• Avoid using the flu vaccine and other vaccines using mercury as a preservative.  The potential benefits don’t outweigh the proven risks.  Consider that drug companies can state that their vaccines contain no mercury if the mercury content is below an “acceptable” level.  Do your research before blindly using their vaccine!
• Avoid eating foods containing HFCS (high fructose corn syrup).  Mercury toxicity is only one  of the health damaging effects of HFCS.  It has also been linked with diabetes, kidney disease, cardiovascular problems.
• Use CFLs with caution.  These energy saving light bulbs can be a real headache if they break in an inconvenient place.  Print up (and learn) the clean-up procedure from the EPA and be ready for an emergency cleanup if an accidental bulb break occurs.
• Consider natural detoxification.  We recommend specific nutritional products, ionizing foot baths, body massage, and fasting.  Contact our office for more details.

This past weekend, I completed a thought-provoking 12-hour continuing education seminar.  The seminar was on Modern Diagnosis, Treatment & Documentation.  The course was taught by KSJ Murkowski, a prominent chiropractic doctor who is known for his expertise in his field.

Dr. Murkowski instructed our small class on the latest technology and protocols to be used during patient evaluation.  He also covered different modern documentation procedures.  I have already been able to apply several new chiropractic techniques and procedures that I gained from the seminar.

The seminar featured a lecture and hands-on demonstration of functional protocols, documentation information, and new research.  The practical nature of the seminar enabled me to immediately apply these new protocols to our wellness center.

The next time you’re visiting, please welcome the newest member of our team, Brittany Borie, a certified massage therapist.  Brittany will help manage the front desk and reception area, as well as provide relaxing massage sessions and trigger point therapy.  She says that she enjoys performing a deeper tissue massage as she feels she attains better results.

Brittany is a positive and energetic individual, and we are really excited about her joining our team.  She will be working on Monday mornings and afternoons, Tuesday afternoons, and Thursday afternoons.

Also providing top notch massage and trigger point therapy are Christine, Misha, and Ariel.  If you would like to get know our therapists better, please click here.

We are pleased to announce the introduction the Posture Pump – Back Model 2000.  This device is designed to be used at home to help relieve back pain and stiffness.  It is painless and easy to use and can physically decompress, shape, and lubricate your spine.   It is portable and can be used at home, in the office, or when traveling.

In February we first introduced the Posture Pump – Neck Model 1000 for the neck.  (For more information on the Neck Model 1000 click here.)

Since then we have had great results with several clients.  So I started exploring the Back Model 2000 and was very impressed with the research behind the product.

This Posture Pump – Back Model 2000 device provides effective relief and lasting correction for:

• Acute back pain
• Chronic back pain
• Sciatica
• Disc bulges
• Disc herniations
• Slouching posture

You can learn more on the Posture Pump web site by clicking here.

You will also be happy to know that both models of the Posture Pump are covered 100% by most major medical insurance if prescribed by a licensed chiropractic doctor.

Please let us know if you are interested and we will schedule a time for a quick evaluation to see if you are a good candidate to for Posture Pump therapy.

Hello everyone!  I hope you’re doing well, keeping warm, and staying safe.  With help from my family, I was able to dig out this morning and get to our wellness center safely.  With the help of Rachel and Shauna, I was able to dig in to our center.  We channeled a nice, clear path from the lot to the door.

The parking is a bit messy right now and we have only about five parking spots available.  If parking is too difficult, please feel free to use the lot at the Bethayers Professional Building right next door.  The Century 21 lot is also available to use after 5:00 PM.

We will be re-opening at 3:00 today.  Hope to see you soon.  Stay well!

Due to the heavy snow we’re receiving, our office will be closed Wednesday, February 10th.  We will do our best to reopen tomorrow (Thursday the 11th), but may start 1-2 hours late.  If you have an early appointment, please call to confirm.

In the meantime, stay home, stay warm, and enjoy a cup of hot chocolate!  If you are going to do some shoveling, check out my post called “How to Shovel Snow Without Getting Hurt”…

http://spectrumwellness.net/how-to-shovel-snow-without-getting-hurt/

I just received this email from ChiroVoice.org.  Please invest a few minutes and help chiropractic to be included in our health care system.  Thanks!

Earlier this year, we asked you to join the chiropractic patient advocacy network, ChiroVoice.  Why?  Because who better to speak up for the need to protect chiropractic in health care reform than the patients who have actually benefited from chiropractic treatment.

As the health care debate continues in Washington, it is vital that we all continue to remind our legislators that they need to ensure that the freedom to choose chiropractic care as a treatment option is not denied under any national health care reform legislation Congress might enact.

Click here to send a message to Washington that chiropractic is an essential core benefit, and that we cannot achieve a wellness and prevention based-system without guaranteed access to the essential services delivered by a Doctor of Chiropractic.

Thank you!  And from the ChiroVoice team, we wish you and your family a safe and happy holiday season.

Three weeks ago we sent two envelopes to Congress and one to the Senate.  These envelopes contained the “voices” of many of our patients who desire to see chiropractic included in the new health care reform bill.  Today I received this letter from Allyson Schwartz:

I would have liked a more detailed response, not just a form letter.  But I suppose we should be happy with any response at all?