We Ultimately See Chiropractic As The Logical First Resource For Health.

your publication for education, inspiration and professional advancement.

SPRING 2015

OregOnChirOpraCtiCassOCiatiOn

Governor Brown signing into law Oregon’s non-discrimination language for health care coverage.

OCA Contact Info:10570 SE Washington, STE 210Portland, OR 97216503-256-1601FAX 503-256-1602chirooregon@hotmail.comOregonChiroAssoc.comOCAnow.com

Like us on facebook

We Ultimately See Chiropractic As The Logical First Resource For Health.

In this issue:

This is the official publication of the Oregon Chiropractic Association. Advertisements, Commentaries and Letters to the Editor can be emailed to Daniel Miller, DC: DanM@NorthwoodHealthCenter.com. Opinions in published articles do not necessarily reflect those of the OCA Board or its members. The editor and OCA Board reserve the right to reject any submission. If there are any topics that would benefit our profession, please email the editor above.

6

9

18

20

OregOn ChirOpraCtiC assOCiatiOn

16

26

28

President’s Message Dr. Brian Seitz

Legislative Update Dr. Vern Saboe

Lawsuit Against the OBCEAttorney Emily Crocker

AFFILIATE MEMBERS AND OCA SUPPORTERS

Grass Roots SuccessDr. William Schneider

New PIP Bill PassedAttorney Aaron DeShaw

Goals and AccomplishmentsDirector Jan Ferrante

4 Oregon Chiropractic AssociationBoard of Directors

4

2015 OregOn ChirOpraCtiC assOCiatiOnBOard Of direCtOrs

PresidentBrian Seitz, D.C.Hillsboro

Vice-PresidentJoyce McClure, D.C.Portland

Don Fuegy, D.C.Portland

Michael Herb, D.C.Eugene

Allen Knecht, D.C.Portland

William Schnieder, D.C.Portland

SecretaryAndrea Herrst, D.C.Portland

TreasurerWilliam Henderson, D.C.Portland

Colin Grice, D.C.Albany

Ben Voth, D.C.Coos Bay

Chris Zander, D.C.Portland

John Paul Whitmire, D.C.Salem

The Whole Body Assessment ToolFor 63 years, Foot Levelers has been on the cutting edge of Chiropractic technology

Balance your patients from the ground up with our 3D BodyView imaging system:

• Communicatetoyourpatientswhybalancingthefoundationisvital

• Incorporate3Dlasertechnologyformodernizedpractice

• Meethigh-techexpectationsoftoday’shigh-techsavvypatients

• Integrateaprovenandvaluablerevenuegenerator

• Extendthepatientrelationshipbeyondtheadjustment

From intake to outcomes, the 3D BodyView imaging system will help your practice grow and patients improve

©2015 Foot Levelers, Inc.

FootLevelers.com | F L X

Call today to get growing with the Foot Levelers 3D BodyView1.800.553.4860

6

The OCA Needs More Involvment From Its Members.Brian Seitz, D.C.OCA President

Why are you NOT an OCA member?Recently our membership committee surveyed 50 non-members and asked this question.

Common responses included:

I don’t know what the OCA does or who they are.

I don’t feel like I would belong or fit in because of how I practice.

The OCA does not represent the majority of chiropractors in this state.

What’s in it for me?

Financial constraints.

The Oregon Chiropractic Association is THE state organization of Chiropractors for Chiropractors. Every Chiropractor in the state of Oregon, no matter how they practice or what they focus on is welcome and encouraged to join. We represent all Chiropractors, not just one “flavor” or “type”. The OCA exists to support and advance our profession. We become stronger with each added member.

The OCA is a volunteer organization governed by a Board of Directors. The Board is tasked with addressing issues that come up either politically or via concerns of our members. We set goals and meet monthly to attain these goals and address these concerns and to oversee the efforts of our various committees. Our current chief goal is to increase membership. Our organization is made up of approximately 50% of the active Chiropractors in the State of Oregon. Imagine our strength if we were 75%. How about 90%?

Current active OCA committees (again filled with volunteer members) include our membership committee, our legislative committee, our public health committee and our convention committee. Each committee relies on the efforts of their members as well as the profession at large.

Through the efforts of the legislative committee, the public health committee and our one and only paid lobbyist, Dr. Vern Saboe, the OCA has been able to positively influence the State Legislature. Examples of our success in the political arena include our support of parental choice and freedom of choice regarding vaccination and immunization and the protection of our Portland patients with the defeat of the fluoridation measure.

7

INTRODUCING YOUR NEWNUTRI-WEST PACIFIC DISTRIBUTORS

We are thrilled to be your new Nutri-West Pacific distributors. After 18 plus years, Skip and Gayle have retired. Some of you may already knowDr Mark and Laura as they have taught many hands-on workshops and conducted CA training sessions over the past years. They, together with Jeanine and Debbie, will continue the high standards of service which Skip and Gayle have provided. Dr. Mark’s and Laura’s extensive

knowledge and use of the Nutri-West products as well as their practical and technical skills will provide the added perspective of a practitioner and a gifted CA.

TEL: 800-458-7606 / FAX: 360-378-9003

EMAIL: NWP@NUTRIWESTPACIFIC.COM

Dr. Mark, Jeanine, Laura, Debbie

We had a huge success at the Capitol May 1st with the passage of House Bill 2468. This bill inserts the federal anti-discrimination language into our state law:(2)(a) An insurer may not discriminate with respect to participation under a health benefit plan or coverage under the plan against any health care provider who is acting within the scope of the provider’s license or certification in this state. (b) This subsection does not require an insurer to contract with any health care provider who is willing to abide by the insurer’s terms and conditions for participation established by the insurer. (c) This subsection does not prevent an insurer from establishing varying reimbursement rates based on quality or performance measures.

Although our numbers are increasing, the addition of more members allow more positive work to be done. So PLEASE become a member! Become an active member of your one and only state organization! Become a member and tell us what YOU think is important. Together we can make it better for all of us!Membership cost is as follows: (An application and more information can be found at: http://oregonchiroassoc.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Potential-New-Member-Packet-2015-FINALL3.pdf )

· Year 1 = $60/yr

· Year 2 = $100/yr

· Year 3 = $200/yr ($17/mo)

· Year 4 = $300/yr ($25/mo)

· Year 5 = $400/yr ($35/mo) ….just over $1/day!

Brian Seitz, DCOCA President

Supplement Your Success!

w w w . b i o t i c s n w . c o m ( 8 0 0 ) 6 3 6 - 6 9 1 3

GENERATE NEW PATIENTS Online searches are a primary way patients are finding their doctors. Marketing your practice specifically for nutrition attracts a whole new group of patients and generates demand for your nutrition profit center. Can patients find you? Go to www.bioticsnutritionranks.com to get a free Google Rank Report on your website to see where your practice ranks.

INTAKE EQUALS ENGAGEMENT Make sure your intake forms incorporate questions about nutrition, supplements, energy levels, sleep, stamina, etc. This information is critical to starting the conversation about your supplement needs. Make an appointment to visit with your Biotics Research Representative to get a copy of a modern patient intake form that will help grow your nutrition revenue immediately.

WELL-STOCKED INVENTORY It’s hard to sell what you don’t have! Get your patients excited about how supplementation can have a positive impact on their health and make sure they leave with supplements in-hand.

BLOG ARTICLES AND PATIENT TESTIMONIALS

Communicate with your patient base through a regular social media blog. Be sure to feature articles that showcase the central role of supplements in health and wellness. Patient testimonials captured on video make powerful social blog posts. Videos of patients telling their personal nutrition-related stories have a reinforcing effect on your patient base and help to reach members of your community through Google searches.

A PROFESSIONAL DISPLAY MATTERS Having a professional display of supplements in your practice sends an important message about how supplementation and chiropractic care go hand-in-hand. Plus, patients (who might not have otherwise) may engage you based on seeing the display.

MANAGE PATIENT EXPECTATIONS Let patients know why you’re recommending specific supplements, and that results vary in terms of time and individual. This keeps them engaged in their health while having realistic expectations.

YOUR WEBSITE WORKS FOR YOU 24/7 Reinforce your commitment to patient health by incorporating and optimizing key words about supplements. Your website should be a resource for your patients, and having information about nutritional supplements on your website illustrates their importance.

MEASURE RESULTS For those situations where specific values are monitored (blood pressure, cholesterol, etc), perform or order follow-up testing to show progress.

STAFF EDUCATION Have weekly staff meetings and reinforce the practice’s commitment to nutritional supplementation. A staff well-versed in nutrition and how supplements play a critical role in health will convey confidence to the patient.

ENCOURAGE REFERRALS Don’t be afraid to encourage patients to share their personal stories of how specific supplements have had a positive impact on their health with their friends, family, and associates. Just because someone doesn’t need an adjustment doesn’t mean you can’t help improve their health!

9

Health Insurance

HB-2468 is the Insurance Commissioner’s Network Adequacy Advisory Committee bill that I served on over 10 months. The key for us is the insertion of the federal non-discrimination language;“(2)(a) An insurer may not discriminate with respect to participation under a health benefit plan or coverage under the plan against any health care provider who is acting within the scope of the provider’s license or certification in this state. (b) This subsection does not require an insurer to contract with any health care provider who is willing to abide by the insurer’s terms and conditions for participation established by the insurer. (c) This subsection does not prevent an insurer from establishing varying reimbursement rates based on quality or performance measures.”

Additionally, as the name implies, this bill also helps ensure that insurers have adequate provider networks that must include adequate numbers of chiropractic physicians in their networks. As of my writing, our HB-2468 passed out of the Senate Health Committee on a 5-yes, 0-no vote and headed to the Senate floor for a full senate vote. The anticipation is that it will most assuredly pass off the senate floor, be signed by Governor Kate Brown, and with her signature, Oregon will be the only state in the nation that has inserted the federal non-discrimination language (Section 2706) in state law.

Review of the 2015 Oregon Legislative Session and Political Action

Vern Saboe, DC, DACAN, FICC, DABFP, FACOOCA Lobbyist, ACA Delegate for Oregon

Worker’s Compensation

HB-2032 Disclosure of injured worker rights Form 3283, this bill failed to gain MLAC support (go figure). This bill dealt specifically with the egregious and unlawful directing of injured workers by some employers. By directing, I mean they are forcing their injured workers to treat with specific occupational medical clinics, urgent care clinics, or specific providers. Though not supported by MLAC this time, we will continue to take steps to eliminate this unlawful activity by some employers, as it is a huge disservice to Oregon’s injured workers.

Doctors, the profession needs your help with this issue. Please contact me immediately if you have an injured worker who describes that their employer is forcing them to a particular occupational clinic, urgent care clinic, or particular provider. I need you to document your patient’s story on your letterhead, making a copy and sending the original to me for my file. Letters from actual injured workers describing how they were forced to a particular clinic or provider by their employer are golden. Additionally, employers can attempt to force their injured employees to a particular clinic even after you have initiated active treatment with that injured worker. Please, make sure you fully document these situations and get that documentation to me as soon as possible. We will use all of these letters as evidence next legislative session and will not let up until we are

successful at ending this activity.

HB-2523 MCOs bill 18 visits/60 days, full attending physician status. This bill was voted down in the Management-Labor Advisory Committee. We originally had support of one of the MCOs (Majoris) following a meeting many months earlier that subsequently disappeared. Two of the MCOs, Keizer and CareMark Comp, do not allow chiropractic physicians to remain attending physicians for the life of the claim. Majoris and Providence do allow and this is a key piece for us. Remaining as attending for the life of the injured workers’ claim means we are in a position to provide a closing examination and document permanent impairment if present. This is very key for injured workers, as the majority of closing examinations are being performed by IMEs. This is not a good situation for workers.

SB-323 Work Comp Cost and Outcomes Comparison Study. We had set ourselves up to bypass the need for this bill by asking Governor Kitzhaber to simply request or direct OHSU’s Institute of Occupational Health Sciences to perform the study with existing funds. The Institute continuously appropriates $5-6 million dollars each year from the Oregon Legislature so our study would not need general fund money. Unfortunately, following Governor Kitzhaber’s resignation, that opportunity disappeared and we were left with having to attempt to move our bill forward rather late in the game. It too failed to gain MLAC support and died as well.

Professional

SB-298 A massage bill introduced by the State of Oregon Massage Board. In the OCA’s view, this bill included inappropriate language that both added a definition for “body work” and expanded a massage therapist’s scope of practice to include “manipulation.” We voiced our opposition and met with the massage board’s executive director and subsequent to that meeting, amended their bill so the OCA could live with it. Our amendment stripped the definition of “body work” which was expansive and simply inserted the term “body work” under existing language defining massage. More importantly, their original proposed bill

language stated; “(2) Bodywork means any form of touch therapy that uses manipulation, movement, energy or repatterning to produce structural and functional changes to the body.” We deleted that language and inserted the following language amending their bill; “Massage and bodywork do not include the practice of high velocity short amplitude manipulative thrusting procedures to the articulations of the spine or extremities.” An example of a lemon turned lemonade, the bill passed the Senate and is poised to be heard in the House Health Committee next.

Public Health

SB-442 This was a vaccination bill sponsored by Senator Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, MD. The bill eliminated the Oregon Health Authority’s online vaccine information exemption voucher system created in 2013 by the passage of Senate Bill 132. SB-442 would have eliminated all non-medical exemptions. The OCA gave testimony against this bill as did other concerned health care professionals, parents and adults. A large coalition of several hundred individuals was subsequently formed and became known as the “No On SB 442 Coalition.” The bill was defeated and died in committee.

SB-895 Another bill that initially only dealt with schools and school districts being required to document their vaccination coverage, meaning the percentage of students who were up to date with their shots. Sen. Steiner Hayward, MD, amended this bill attempting to once again remove all non-medical exemptions (religious & philosophical) by eliminating the recently created online vaccine informational system. Her amendments caused stiff opposition resulting in the Committee Chair Sen. Arnie Roblan introducing amendments removing all of Sen. Steiner Hayward’s amended language reinstating the online vaccine information system and the non-medical exemptions. The school reporting portion of the bill remains. The bill passed along party lines meaning the three Republican committee members all voted no, the four Democratic members voting yes, but since the bill came back with a projected cost to the state of $50,000, it now goes to the Joint Ways and Means Committee for approval before a floor vote.

10

For more information about NCMIC and our premium dividend, visit www.ncmic.com/dividend. Or, call us at 800-769-2000, ext. 3120.

We can’t say “thank you” enough. You’ve made possible our stellar record—19 consecutive years of giving back to our chiropractic malpractice insurance policyholders through a premium dividend. Our doctors’ effective risk management, along with NCMIC’s solid business decisions and experience managing claims, makes it happen.

Premium dividends are not guaranteed. We Take Care of Our Own is a registered service mark of NCMIC Group, Inc. and NCMIC Risk Retention Group, Inc.

©2015 NCMIC NFL 3693

Thank You, Doctors, for Helping Make

NCMIC the One and Only Malpractice Insurance Companyto Return a Premium Dividend to its Chiropractic Policyholders

12

SB-673 This was a bill that allowed dentists to administer vaccinations. The bill was not requested by the dental profession but rather Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, MD. There were subsequently a great number of questions from the dentists about the bill and how it would be implemented. Questions from the dental profession who did not request this bill centered on scope, clinical training, and malpractice concerns. The bill died in committee.

SB-731 This was another vaccination bill introduced by Sen. Tim Knopp. This bill was quite different stating; “SECTION 1. (1) It is the policy of the State of Oregon that decisions related to immunizations are personal health care decisions and that immunizations may not be mandated by an employer as a condition of employment unless required by federal law.” This bill is of interest because the pharmaceutical industry via the CDC will be pushing for state adult vaccine mandates. This session the California legislature is moving a bill that would mandate all daycare workers to receive all the adult CDC recommended vaccines as a condition of employment and clearly represents a harbinger for what is to come. It is only a matter of time before an Oregon legislative attempt will be made mandating vaccines for teachers, school administrators, employees working in public places such as restaurants, retail clerks, etc., and yes, health care professions such as you and me.

Mandatory Vaccines and Being Proactive and Preemptive this legislative session taught us a couple of lessons. First, some legislators and proponents of mandatory childhood vaccines for every child in the name of “the greater good” cannot and should not be trusted. Multiple times during the 2013 hearings on Senate Bill 132, we were repeatedly assured by the proponents they had no intention of taking away a parents right to exempt. We were told that once parents have completed the online vaccine informational modules, they are free to exempt for any reason whatsoever, philosophical, religious, whatever, their child from any vaccine(s). However, without yet having any statistics about exemption rates from the Oregon Health Authority’s (OHA) year old online vaccine educational system, the proponents for SB-442 suggested it wasn’t working. This was one of the early rationales used

by the proponents as per why SB 442 was needed, but this frivolous argument quickly disappeared when the OHA reported that exemption rates had been decreasing with the implementation of the new online system.

The OCA will team up with the freedom in health care group as well as other groups to provide evidence-based information as to the other side of the mandatory vaccine story. This informational outreach may include symposiums with key scientists and health care professionals providing evidence-based presentations. We will invite members of the Oregon legislature and their staff, labor union representatives, health care professionals, teachers and school administrators, PTA board members, students, restaurant associations, public health officials, and the general public. We have also discussed possible legislation in legislative sessions to come, as it is way past time to provide the evidence-based other side of the vaccine issue.

Back and Spine Pain Prioritized List Reorganization Task Force. I was appointed to this task force that met over a five month period of time. The charge of our task force was to revisit the issue of common back and spine pain conditions, and current interventions that provide to the Medicaid/Oregon Health Plan population. Currently, the official State of Oregon Evidence-based Low Back Pain Management Guidelines adopted in 2012 recommend spinal manipulation. In fact, spinal manipulation is the only non-pharmacologic treatment recommended for all three phases of low back pain acute, subacute, and chronic. However, Medicaid patients are unable to receive our treatment because back pain spinal related diagnoses fall below Oregon’s prioritized list line and as such our interventions are not paid for. Yet this Medicaid population that is known to have a high incidence of substance abuse compared to the average population are able to receive all the opioid narcotics they wish. The combination of the official low back pain guidelines (the OCA gave key input) recommending spinal manipulation, a non-pharmacologic intervention, combined with Oregon’s high opioid prescription abuse, finally forced the issue. As a consequence, starting in 2016, our treatments will be reimbursed and not

13

only for lower back pain, but also cervical and thoracic spinal regions.

Portland VA Medical Center. The OCA has been attempting to work with Portland VA officials since 2008 with the goal of providing chiropractic care to veterans at the VA Medical Center. Specifically the goal is for the VA to hire a chiropractic physician either part-time or full-time. We had a recent meeting with the new Director of the VA, her new chief of staff, and other officials three months ago, and they are apparently finally moving forward with adding a chiropractic physician. With that said, the chief of staff and I spoke last month, he was very upbeat and positive that hiring a DC was going to happen, but it’s going to be several months before this is accomplished. Change it seems happens very slowly (like molasses) with the VA. So be it. We will stay the course as our honored veterans deserve chiropractic care and we deserve to be part of the health care delivery team.

EHB/Standard Plan Rulemaking Advisory Committee, Oregon Insurance Division. I requested to serve on this critically important advisory committee formed by the Insurance Division, but was not appointed. Nonetheless, I have attended meetings and given “public testimony” as to the absolute need for the Division to amend their “Essential Health Benefits/Standard Plan Cost Sharing Matrix.” Why? Because the current 2016 matrix states on page 3 of 7 “Not covered in standard plan (non-EHB) chiropractic care.” I provided written and oral testimony in front of the committee on Thursday, April 22, 2015, my written testimony can be read on the Division web page at;http://www.oregon.gov/DCBS/insurance/legal/committees-workgroups/Pages/essential-health-benefits/essential-health-benefits.aspx#20150410-ehb21

Congressman Kurt Schrader. My wife Jeri and I are again hosting a fundraiser at our home in Albany, 1832 NW Cascade Heights Drive, 97321, Thursday afternoon August 6, 3:00 PM to 4:30. Kurt has

become a good friend over the years dating back to our first meeting during the 2005 Oregon State legislative session when he was a State Senator in Salem. He has become a chiropractic advocate for us back in Washington, DC, including helping us with the Portland VA Medical Center, taking time out of his very busy schedule to lead a high level meeting with the Director and key staff and continues to help. More recently, Congressman Schrader circulated a letter to congressional members gaining signatures of many members demanding HHS to properly implement the federal non-discrimination provisions in “ObamaCare”

If you have been injured or suffer fromchronic pain and need an MRI, ask

your doctor to refer you to any one ofour four Portland area locations.

Clearview MRI - Portland’s MRI Specialists.

Clear Choice, Clear Diagnosis, Clearview

www.clearviewmri.com

14

(PPACA). We are suggesting a donation of $100 but give what you can, just make sure you come to the event, we need to “fill the room” for this friend of the profession.

ChiroPAC. Thank you again to all you dear colleagues who continue to give to our PAC, you have a great deal to do with why we have been so successful these past 10 years in Salem. Your donations have helped fuel our political efforts that have resulted in many wins for our profession. For example, with your help we have passed 8 laws since 2005 that benefit the chiropractic profession and our patients, a myriad of key administrative rules, helped to create official state of Oregon low back pain guidelines, be a presence at the capitol with “Chiropractic Day at the Capitol,” helped create and staff the first chiropractic treatment room at the capitol, change the prioritized list so that our treatment of Medicaid patients (Oregon Health Plan/CCOs) with cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spinal pain will be reimbursed beginning in 2016 and more. Thank you all!

Doctor if you are currently not yet a monthly ChiroPAC contributor please join us. We have three levels of giving $25/month (Bronze), $45 (Silver) and $85 (Gold) but the reality is we will accept whatever you wish to give. You will receive my monthly ChiroPAC newsletter that will inform you of what is happening politically, so please contact me personally to join your colleagues as a ChiroPAC contributor. To The Continued Good Fight! Vern Saboe, cell (call any time) 541-231-4528, email vern@drvernsaboe.com

The OCA will sponsor an

OTZ A101 Adjusting Seminar

October 10-11, 2015

12 hour seminar, 8 hrs Saturday and 4 hrs Sunday, lots of hands on adjusting !

OCA members get $100 off the $599 registration fee !

OCA members please contact the OCA for your discount code to use upon registration!

Go to www.otzhealthed.com to the seminar tab and get the details for the “Oregon Seminar”

Register today - Space is limited to first 40 doctors !!

Vern Saboe, D.C.oCa LobbyiSt

www.erchonia.com888.242.0571 Toll Free

12

The

Ultimate Sports Sem

inarAugust 8th and 9th, 2015 - Portland, O

RGet th

e Laser Edge in Sports Performance

Presented by: Robert G. Silverman, DC, DACBN, DCBCN, MS

Scan Hereto Register!

©2015 Copyright Erchonia Corporation. Patented, US and international patents and patent pending. For more information go to www.erchonia.com. OCA 2015 Rev 1

Now Only $99* Registration Fee if You are an OCA Member!

Embassy SuitesPortland Airport 7900 NE 82nd Ave.Portland, OR 97220 Phone: (503) 460-3000

*$75 extra for CEs (if needed). Not all states covered.

Key Clinical Takeaways:• Discover clinical breakthroughs in the management of sports injuries

with laser therapy• Learn neurodynamic tests and corrective laser protocols• Explore the relationship between movement and pain in the athlete• History of low-level laser therapy• Breakthroughs on game-day laser applications• Implement a Functional Movement Assessment, which reveals faulty

movement patterns and corrections with laser protocols• Nutrition strategies to enhance performance in athletics• How to implement an ACL injury prevention program• LLLT for CrossFit Performance

Seminar Location:

In this exciting seminar, you will gain insight to a comprehensive methodology to incorporate protocols into a clinically effective, financially rewarding system that you’ll be able to apply to your practice immediately. This seminar is ideal for any practitioners who address, or want to integrate sports laser and practice within the realm of sports injuries and sports performance.

Join Dr. Silverman as he shares his knowledge and expertise in sports injuries and sports performance management with you.

Silverman_Ultimate_Sports_OCA_Journal.indd 1 5/27/2015 9:43:40 AM

A Chiropractic Physician’s and Patient’s Right to Privacy Against the OBCE to be decided by Marion County Circuit Court

A lawsuit has been filed in the Marion County Circuit Court to determine the extent to which the Oregon Board of Chiropractic Examiners (OBCE) can invade a chiropractic physician’s and a patient’s rights to privacy when the patient has not complained about her chiropractor.

On March 4, 2015, an Oregon licensed chiropractic physician received a letter from the Executive Director of the OBCE that stated as follows:

The [OBCE] is in receipt of information alleging potential violations of ethical conduct. Please provide a written response to this complaint. It is alleged that you treated [Patient X] for a condition related to exposure to titanium. The above described actions are potentially a violation of: ORS 684.010 [Scope of Practice]; . . . ORS 684.100 [Unprofessional or Dishonorable Conduct], . . . including the willful ordering or performance of unnecessary laboratory tests or studies; [and] OAR 811-015-0010 [Violation of the Clinical Justification Rule].

The OBCE demanded the doctor respond in writing within 14 days, and demanded the doctor waive his and his patient’s medical and other privacy rights and turn over her complete medical record. The OBCE stated, “[a]fter careful consideration for the allegations put forward by the complainant, the OBCE has determined that the minimum information necessary to thoroughly investigate this matter is complete copies of the patient’s file.”

16

Attorney Michael G. Smith of the Gatti Law Firm responded to the letter on behalf of both the doctor and the patient. Both the doctor and the patient asserted their constitutional rights to privacy under the United States and Oregon Constitutions as well as state and federal medical privacy statutes. The doctor demanded a hearing to determine whether the search and seizure of Patient X’s medical records was reasonable and therefore constitutionally permissible. The OBCE responded by claiming that no doctor or patient has a constitutional or statutory right to privacy against the OBCE when it is investigating an anonymous complaint. The OBCE additionally denied the doctor’s request for a hearing. The OBCE then threatened additional potential discipline on the doctor for failing to cooperate with the OBCE. After several written attempts to get the OBCE to back down proved unsuccessful, a lawsuit was filed in the Marion County Circuit Court for declaratory and injunctive relief. That litigation is pending.

The lawsuit charges several reasons why the OBCE’s conduct, administrative rules, and its interpretation of those rules violate the constitutional and statutory rights to privacy of both the doctor and patient. The lawsuit also asserts that the OBCE’s actions violate procedural and substantive due process under both the United States and Oregon Constitutions, and that the OBCE acted unconstitutionally when it threatened to punish the doctor for asserting his and his patient’s rights to privacy. The OBCE claims that neither the doctor nor the patient has enforceable rights to privacy against the OBCE, as long as the OBCE claims to be investigating something or acting upon a complaint from someone. The OBCE also claims that the only time a doctor or patient has the right to a hearing is when and if the OBCE votes to pursue Proposed Disciplinary Action. The problem with that position, however, is that the doctor’s and patient’s rights to privacy would be invaded by the OBCE before any such hearing could occur.

The Gatti Law Firm firmly believes that the OBCE performs valuable and essential services to both the public and the profession. The Oregon Legislature has empowered the OBCE with necessary regulatory, legislative, and judicial power, which it requires to perform its essential functions. However, we also firmly believe that the OBCE’s grant of power is not limitless, and that every doctor and patient in this state maintains extremely important constitutional and statutory rights to privacy that cannot be infringed or invaded by the OBCE without due process. We believe that any search and seizure of a patient’s medical records or of a doctor’s patient files must be reasonable, and that it is the OBCE that bears the burden of proving its search and seizure is constitutional under the circumstances in each case. While the outcome of any litigation such as this is uncertain, we strongly believe that this battle is worth fighting for the good of all chiropractors and patients across Oregon.

Emily CrockerAssociate AttorneyGatti, Gatti, Maier, Sayer, Thayer, Smith & Associates

17

Diamond Affiliates:_____________ *****_ Gatti, Gatti, Maier, Sayer Thayer, Smith & Associates Toll Free: (800) 289-3443 Portland: (503) 224-1524 Salem: (503) 363-3443

Eugene: (503 )343-6587 Law Offices of Aaron DeShaw, Esq. Foot Levelers

(503) 227-1233 (800) 553-4860 Platinum Affiliates:________________________________________________****

Portland Gresham Tigard Beaverton (503)774-7700 (503)661-6500 (503)639-9700 (503)746-7858

Scott Supperstein, Attorney Biotics Research NW, Inc. NCMIC (503) 227-6464 (800) 856-9987 (800) 769-2000 WELCOME NEW AFFILIATE:

Gold Affiliates: __________________________________________***

BRONZE AFFILIATES – LISTED ON BACK OF THIS PAGE

Mark Earnhart, DC (800) 458-7606 Diane Southwick (425) 238-1395 Julie Shively (800) 292-6699 Nutri West Pacific Erchonia Standard Process

EPIC Imaging (503) 253-1105

Thank you to all of our 2014 Affiliate Members who continue to support the Oregon Chiropractic Association and our members.

WELLERO Erin Sellnow, Marketing Manager (503) 721-4077

OCA Affiliate Members

Bronze Affiliates:__________________________________________________*

*Bowen Inc. – Jim Bowen (406) 370-9900

* Michael Sculley (770)213-4723

*Medical Arts Press (800)328-2179 http://www.medicalartspress.com/medical-exam-room-supplies/cbu/23.html

*Nerium, International – Independent Brand Partner Jillian Carlile (360) 601-6990 WELCOME NEW AFFILIATE

* Neuromechanical Innovations -- Tanya Fernandez (480)785-8448

* Pay DC – David Klein (888) 306-1256

* Solutionreach – Tiffany Fawson (801)331-7114

Affiliates: The Oregon Chiropractic Association (OCA) recognizes and encourages the building of Affiliate corporate relationships that can bring added value to both those companies and to our DC members. We have five different levels of Affiliate memberships that offer different advantages to your company. Those five levels include: Diamond, Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze. Memberships. Your involvement with our membership gives you and your company insight into chiropractic care issues not available through other associations. Your insight into our Chiropractic profession will come from seeing first hand, the dedication and the diversity of our members across the state. Affiliate memberships in the OCA are a demonstration of your organization’s commitment to the Chiropractic profession in Oregon and we appreciate your support.

Eligibility: Membership in the OCA as an Affiliate member is available to companies and individuals with commercial products and services that support the philosophy and principles of chiropractic care as demonstrated by the OCA and its DC members. Specific ventures must comply with the Oregon Chiropractic Scope of Practice as defined in statute. Further, it is the policy of the OCA to make Affiliate memberships available on a non-exclusive basis. Membership will be made available to companies with competing products and services as well as independent representatives of the same product or service. Affiliation in the OCA is not to be construed or promoted as an endorsement of the member company’s policies, practices, products or services. Any reference to the OCA must include the disclaimer: “The OCA has not investigated the products and services offered by all of its Affiliate members. Therefore the OCA does not specifically endorse these companies but rather gives them a way to communicate and reach out to our Chiropractic profession individually.”

THANK YOU “AFFILIATE MEMBERS” 2014

OCA Affiliate Members

20

When I first considered writing this article on grass roots political activity I thought to myself–“who am I to talk about political activism?- I have no formal training in this at all.” I am a chiropractor not a lobbyist! But then as I considered the matter for awhile I began to see that I really have learned some important things about winning legislative battles via grass roots activism. My campaigning education has come from the best school of all-the classic school of hard knocks-that is the real world. My hope is that by sharing my hard earned lessons with others I will help encourage them to get involved in the critically important legislative process. I don’t think I need to remind chiropractors in Oregon how important the legislative process can be to their practices and economic survival. (Need I mention “Mahonia Hall reforms”?) I first cut my teeth in the political arena back in 2008 when I became the de facto leader of the wild grass roots effort to save the 39th Ave street name in Portland from being changed to Cesar E Chavez Blvd. I had just bought an office on 39th Ave in 2008 when I discovered there were plans to possibly change the name to Cesar Chavez Blvd. I studied the issues and decided to take a stand against the name change. I helped organize a grass roots coalition of folks who passionately agreed with me and we fought all the way to Portland’s City Hall to stop the name change. Ultimately

Grass Roots Rocks!

Take a look!

we lost our battle even though the vast majority of Portlanders supported our stand against the name change. When the City Council held hearings on the name change, we brought over 350 people to City Hall to testify. We outnumbered those supporting the name change by over 10 to 1. In spite of this overwhelming opposition, the City Council of Portland voted weeks later 5 to 0 to rename 39th Ave for labor leader Cesar Chavez. The sting of that political defeat was painful indeed. But I learned some valuable lessons in grass roots activism from the experience. The key lesson was that it takes more than passion and numbers of people to win in the legislative arena. Yes these things are valuable but they are useless without the added ingredient of political savvy or plane old smarts!

So a few years later, in June of 2012, the same Portland City Council voted unanimously to Fluoridate Portland’s water supply. This decision really got my blood boiling but this time I was prepared to use my energy more efficiently to win in the legislative arena and keep Fluoride out of Portland’s water-out of my water system. I immediately began to search for the political know how to win this battle. I found my answer in the group called Clean Water Portland. This group was headed by lawyer and professional lobbyist, Kim Kiminski. For many years she had lobbied successfully at the Oregon state level to prevent the

William Schneider DC, CMTA, FCBP

21

Fluoridating of Oregon’s water. Ms. Kiminski just happened to be my neighbor –living only a few blocks from my home. I immediately called Kim and found out that she was forming a coalition of folks to fight to overturn the recent vote of Portland’s City Counsel to Fluoridate Portland’s water. She said we would need to gather 30,000 signatures in 30 days to force a city wide vote/referendum on the City Counsels’ decision to fluoridate the water. As I spoke to this determined- veteran lobbyist/lawyer, I realized she really had a viable plan to win this legislative battle. I decided then and there to join her team and fight this unjust law with passion and intelligence. I had learned my lesson on the 39th Ave street fight-I would not fight in the legislative arena without street smarts and real savvy political knowledge.

The rest is history as they say. I joined the Clean Water Portland coalition and coordinated all my efforts with theirs. I called Jan Ferranti from the OCA and together we hatched a plan to help the chiropractors in Portland area coordinate their efforts to gather signatures to place Fluoridation measure on the ballot. We arranged to have 10 hub chiropractic offices which would act as informational centers for those doctors collecting signatures. My office became one of those hub offices. Jan and I used the OCA email list serve to put out the word that the OCA was going to work with the Clean Water Portland group to help stop the Fluoridation of Portland‘s water. We had tremendous response from the Portland doctors and soon we were gathering signatures by the thousands as a chiropractic group.

Meanwhile I found out that Dr. Ann Durrant, the chair of OCA public health committee, was working closely with the Clean Water Portland group also. The OCA board also decided to donate money to the Clean Water coalition. I too donated substantial money to the Clean Water coalition and managed to get a $1,000 donation to the cause from a well healed philanthropist in Portland.

When the dust had settled in 30 days, thousands of volunteers for the Clean Water

Portland coalition had collected 43,000 signatures to place the Fluoridation Measure on the May 22nd, 2013 ballot in Portland. This was an astounding feet of grass roots efforts almost unheard of in Portland political history. But the battle was far from over –we still had to win the battle of the actual vote in May of 2013.

Once again the coalition Clean Water Portland was up to the task. Thousands of grass roots volunteers who passionately believed in keeping Portland’s water free of Fluoride began to work within the framework of the Clean Water Portland agenda. I worked with the coalition every step of the way-no longer working as a lone wolf as in the old days of 39th Ave street fight. Once again I called our OCA executive director Jan Ferranti to formulate a plan to get the Portland area OCA members on board in efforts to get out the vote to save our PDX water. And again the OCA set up key hub offices that would act as information centers for the campaign. Dr. Durrant and I coordinated our efforts with the Clean Water Portland group in getting information out to the profession about the dangers of Fluoridation, etc. Lawn signs were created by the thousands and were distributed all over the city. Thousands of volunteers fanned out over the city in the months just before the May 22nd election going house to house encouraging voters to vote no on Fluoridating Portland’s water.

In early May of 2013, I invited Kim Kaminski-the leader of the grass roots Clean Water PDX group-to our OCA convention at the Red Lion Inn for the sole purpose of meeting Jan Ferranti-our OCA executive director. I thought it would be a good idea for these two dynamic ladies to get their heads together to help coordinate the efforts of the OCA and the Clean Water Portland coalition. Happily, Kim made it to the convention and I had the pleasure of finally introducing these ladies to each other. As I saw them walking away speaking with great animation I recall thinking to myself “look out Water Fluoridation fans- now you are really in for trouble”.

As it turned out the pro Fluoride group –which

22

had the support of just about every medical association in Oregon-was indeed in for serious trouble. The election was held on May 22nd and the people of Portland voted down the Fluoridation of Portland water by a resounding 60% to %40. The rag tag grass roots Clean Water Portland group had just helped take down the two headed Goliath of Portland’s enshrined medical establishment and the Portland City Council. The people of Portland had spoken and only one medical group had stood proudly with those people - the Oregon Chiropractic Association. Do you think a few people in Portland will remember who stood with them when they needed help protecting their health and that of their children?

What I can tell you definitively is that as I stood and celebrated with my friends from the Clean Water Portland coalition that sweet evening of victory, I was one proud chiropractor. I felt like I had truly lived up to my oath to do no harm to my patients as a doctor. I stood and represented all my fellow doctors and OCA team at that wild celebration of democracy at it sweetest-when the peoples’ voice is heard over the din of dirty politicking and big money.

Now we fast forward to Feb. 2015 and the Oregon legislature began a new session. One morning I was cruising through my morning news on my chrombook when I noticed an unusual headline on KATU 2 news - “Oregon Legislator wants to eliminate ‘philosophical ‘vaccine exemption”. It was Feb. 5th. I quickly clicked on the link to discover that a Sen. Hayward was indeed sponsoring a bill that would eliminate the religious and philosophical vaccine exemptions from Oregon law and would also eliminate the on-line education program that allows such exemptions. Once again I could feel my anger began to rise within and I knew another fight was in the making. Now a veteran of Legislative wars I knew exactly what to do -call the legislative pros and find out how to fight this battle effectively. I immediately called our OCA lobbyist Dr. Vern Saboe and told him about Sen Hayward’s vaccine bill. Vern had not heard of the bill but he said he would track it down. True to his

word, within hours he had researched the bill and then sent out an alert/plan to the OCA list serve and yahoo chiropractic list outlining action steps doctors should take to stop this bill in its tracks.

While Vern was at work getting the word out to Chiropractors with regard to the new vaccine bill (SB 442), I wasted little time contacting my neighbor and friend Kim Kiminski-the mastermind lobbyist and environmental lawyer who had lead the no on Fluoridation campaign. She was acutely aware of the new vaccine bill and she was working with a newly formed coalition of folks who were preparing to launch a campaign to stop that same vaccine bill. I told her to keep me in the loop and let me know when the group was organized. Finally I contacted Dr. Ann Durrant who was the chair of the OCA public health committee and we discussed ways to get the word out to doctors and the public as to SB 442. Our state OCA convention was on Feb. 6th -Feb 8th and this was great opportunity to meet with Dr. Durrant and Saboe to discuss strategies regarding stopping SB 442. We all agreed that if we could bombard the Senate Health Committee that was considering the vaccine bill with thousands of hand written letters, emails and calls they would reconsider letting the bill move out of committee. We devised plans to get the OCA membership and all Oregon chiropractors to encourage their patients to make the necessary calls.

Thus within days of the public announcement of Senator Hayward’s vaccine bill plans were in the making to stop it cold. On Feb. 19th a group of us doctors met at the capitol for Chiropractic day at the Capitol. We visited nearly every Rep. and Senator in the legislature and talked about several chiropractic bills and, of course the vaccine bill SB 442. Along with our visit to the capitol, thousands of calls were being made by chiropractors and their patients during the early weeks of February.

Then on Feb. 26th the newly formed coalition called Oregonians For Medical Freedom held

Authorized Independent DistributorStandard Process NW

standardprocessnw.com

800.292.6699

23

their first executive meeting. I attended with Kim Kiminski. I discovered that this coalition had retained a top notch lobbyist named Rebecca Tweed to help coordinate their efforts to stop SB 442. As I listened to this lady outline plans to counter the bill I began to see once again the beauty of using intelligence and political savvy when battling in the Political arena. Also in attendance were Drs. Durrant and Pitcairn and a select group of highly motivated and talented parents and doctors determined to save medical freedom with regard to vaccines in Oregon. With Rebecca’s guidance we began to put together a plan to stop SB 442 that included a blitz of grass roots efforts by thousands of volunteers. I left the meeting and went directly to the OCA board meeting to report on what I had heard at coalition exec. meeting. As a board member myself I proposed that we align our OCA efforts with regard to SB 442 with the Oregonians For Medical Freedom. The board agreed unanimously. We further agreed that as an association we would take a pro informed consent stance and not an anti-vaccine stance. Now we were really ready to roll. The OCA had aligned itself with a well organized and intelligent coalition of folks who shared our vision to retain real informed consent with regard to vaccines in Oregon.

Once again the rest is history. With the combined efforts of thousands of volunteers spread out over the state the Senate health committee was inundated with hand written letters, emails, and phone calls lamenting the loss of their medical freedom. The first public hearing on SB 442 was on March 2nd in Salem and Dr. Saboe offered testimony against the bill along with dozens of folks from the Oregonians For Medical Freedom coalition. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. visited Salem on Mar. 5th to preview his new film on Mercury in vaccines (Trace Amounts) and then met with 20+ legislators arguing against passage of SB 442. On March 9th the coalition held a rally on the steps of the Capitol protesting the SB 442 bill. Many chiropractors were there for the rally and I spoke briefly at this rally myself. By March 10th the din of protest reaching the Senate members had reached a deafening crescendo.

Then on March 11th the stunning news broke-Senator Hayward had decided to withdraw SB 442 from consideration! A wave of the purist joy- and then relief- swept across the members of the Oregonians For Medical Freedom coalition and their allies in the OCA. The voice of the people had been heard on a matter of grave importance to the public of Oregon. Grass roots efforts had prevailed against overwhelming established institutional forces.

24

And yes- once again the OCA had stood with the people when they needed help to protect their health and medical freedom.

But Senator Hayward was not to be denied-she re-introduced yet another vaccine bill -son of SB 442, as SB 895 -this time to the Education Committee. Of course the OCA and Coalition sprang back to action to stop this bill as well. As of this writing SB 895 has 5 amendments and now appears relatively tame while retaining vaccine exemptions for religious and philosophical reasons. The Oregonians For Medical Freedom group and the OCA are closely watching this bill as it languishes in the Ways and Means committee.

So you may wonder-”what does Fluoridation of water and vaccinating children have to do with chiropractic anyway?” And even if it were related to our health profession how does it affect my life and my bottom line profit margin as a doctor? First of all, I would suggest that we should be in the health profession primarily because we deeply care about the well being of our patients and the entire community. And as highly trained health professionals we are in a unique position to make well informed decisions concerning public health issues such as water fluoridation and vaccinating our children.

As to the second question, I believe the answer must be more cerebral but in the end very important. I believe that when the chiropractic profession takes a stand on an issue because it is scientifically and morally sound, then I believe in the long run this stand will bring positive rewards for our profession- both monetarily and in cultural authority. I further believe that by fighting for a just cause one can attain a deep sense of peace and satisfaction that defies classification or further analysis.

I have shared my experiences with grass roots politics with the hope that it motivates more of my chiropractic colleagues to join in efforts working and often winning in the political arena-whether the issues involved are specific to chiropractic or are more general

public health issues. We all need to help our Lobbyist, Dr. Saboe, in the legislative arena. He has important work to do but he is only one man. Our Chiropractic profession may be ripped apart by the legislative process if we doctors are not willing to stand up and fight for what we believe in. I am here to tell you the work can be quite rewarding when you are fighting side by side with other quality people. The joy I felt after the victories on Fluoridation and Vaccinations cannot be verbalized-only experienced.

I hope next time you feel angry or frustrated by some legislative action- either at the local or national level- you will be moved to take intelligent action to right the wrong and thus advance both our profession and the health of our patients. You may not win every battle but your conscience will always be clear and the victories you are blessed to be a part of will be oh so sweet.

William Schneider DC, CMTA, FCBP. is certified in Nimmo and Faktr protocols.He is a board member of OCA and co-chair of OCA public health committee. He has practiced in Hollywood area of NE Portland for 21 years.

Participation is the only way achievements like these get

made. If you are not a member of the OCA, then please join. If you are a member, then please

participate. Call the OCA office to find ways you can help

Chiropractic in Oregon.

Presented by: Court Vreeland, DC, DACNB

October 3, 2015 Portland, OR Cost: $149

6.5 CE credits applied for DC, ND, LAC, NTP

This educational seminar will focus on the latest research in nutrition and neurological health. This seminar will cover the vital importance of blood brain barrier and gut barrier integrity in brain health, neuro-inflammation and mechanisms through which diet may affect it, neurotransmitter physiology, neurodegenerative changes, and much more. Attendees will learn effective treatment strategies for a wide range of neurological conditions that are common but notoriously difficult to treat.

About the Speaker: Dr. Court Vreeland completed his undergraduate work at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, New Jersey where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in biology with a minor in chemistry. He then attended Logan College of Chiropractic in St. Louis, Missouri where he completed his Doctor of Chiropractic degree. Dr. Vreeland is a diplomate with the American Chiropractic Neurology Board, having competed his course work in 2007. He has extensive training in developmental disorders, autism spectrum disorders, vestibular rehabilitation, and nutrition. Dr. Vreeland lectures regularly throughout the community and across the nation. He has also worked closely with Biotics Research Corporation to co-develop a line of supplements designed to target neurologic health.

Where: University of Western States campus, Hampton Hall 2900 NE 132nd Avenue, Portland, OR 97230

Register Today: Call (800) 636-6913 or visit our website for more information

(www.bioticsnw.com)

Topics will include:

• Migraines

• Concussion

• Neuron Physiology

• Alzheimer’s Disease

• Neurodegeneration

• The Gut-Brain Connection

• Neurotransmitter Physiology

• Neuro-inflammatory Response

• Research-based Treatments

The Oregon legislature recently passed legislation regarding auto insurance that will be helpful for Oregonians seriously injured in a car crash, as well as the Oregon doctors and hospitals who treat them. Senate Bill 411 does a number of things regarding Personal Injury Protection insurance, as well as Uninsured Motorist and Underinsured Motorist insurance coverage.

First, in regard to Personal Injury Protection, this is the type of coverage that a passenger gets from the car they are in, which covers medical expenses up to one year (or a maximum of $15,000 in most cases) or whenever the insurance company decides to terminate their care with an insurance doctor’s examination. In addition, “PIP” insurance can cover up to 70% of a person’s monthly wage loss (or a maximum of $3,000 / month) for one year if a doctor confirms the person is unable to work after a car wreck. Oregon has historically had a limitation of only one PIP policy’s coverage. With many of our seriously injured clients, the $15,000 in medical coverage is used by an ambulance ride and an ER visit on the first day of the crash. The client is then left with no ability to receive any additional medical care for their injuries. Any payments made by the auto insurer (or their health insurer), and any doctors who will see them on a lien, all have to be paid back out of the settlement or verdict. When all of the PIP is used early due to the severity of injury, this can leave Oregon doctors waiting for years to receive payment if they decide to provide care to a patient who doesn’t have additional insurance.

The new legislation improves PIP slightly for those seriously injured. In the event a passenger is in someone else’s car with Oregon auto insurance, but they have their own separate Oregon auto insurance policy, the new legislation allows injured people to “stack” those two PIP coverages together so that the person can get the benefit of the insurance they paid for, in addition to the coverage available in a car owned by someone else. (This stacking will not apply if someone is injured in their own car, as it is only one policy that covers both the car and the person.) Stacking will allow some individuals to get a bit more insurance coverage for medical care to cover part of their staggering medical bills caused by someone else’s negligence. The legislation also requires PIP policies to extend payments out to two years, which is more in line with what medical literature says is the period at which doctors can determine whether a serious injury is permanent or not.

All this said, insurers can and do regularly terminate care for injured people before the PIP insurance is intended to stop. Under Oregon’s PIP laws, which remain in effect, insurers can terminate care anytime the insurance doctors terminate an injured person’s healthcare coverage. This is a shadow industry known to very few people who have not been injured, in which doctors can make a career out of terminating injured people’s care, rather than treating patients to help them. More than any other cause, our clients hire a lawyer because their own insurer attempts to terminate their ability to receive medical care with an “Insurance Medical Exam” or “IME.”

A New Bill Affecting PIP and UM Coverage.

26

27

Senate Bill 411 also addresses a long standing problem regarding “Uninsured Motorist” (sometimes called “UM” insurance) or “Uninsured Motorist” (often called “UIM” insurance) coverage. This is the type of insurance coverage that is required in Oregon to cover instances where an Oregonian is injured either by someone with no insurance, or by someone who has too little insurance for the injuries they cause. Approximately 1 in 7 motor vehicle crashes in Oregon involve at-fault drivers who are not insured and many more drivers don’t have enough insurance for the damage they cause. This is particularly true in cases where there are serious and permanent injuries where the personal and financial losses will be high for the injured person.

Historically, Oregon’s Uninsured Motorist, and Underinsured Motorist laws have been subtractive. If the at-fault driver had $25,000 in insurance coverage, and the injured person had $25,000 in Underinsured Motorist coverage, the injured person could only get $25,000 total no matter how big their medical bills were, how much money they were going to lose by not working in the future, or how severely they were injured. Oregon law allowed insurers to subtract the amount of the at-fault driver’s insurance from the injured person’s own Underinsured Motorist insurance, sometimes leaving the person with no insurance benefit despite paying money for underinsured motorist insurance coverage. Senate Bill 411 changed the law to allow UM/UIM policies to “stack” on top of the coverage available from the insurance of the at fault driver. This means now, if the driver who caused the crash has $25,000 in liability coverage, and the injured person has a $25,000 Underinsured Motorist policy, the injured person could conceivably have access to $50,000 in coverage rather than $25,000. This will be of some benefit to our clients, although we will still face cases where there are medical bills and personal losses that are many times greater than all insurance policies added together. Part of our job in such cases is to get as much of the insurance policy we are able to obtain, and then negotiate with ambulance companies, hospitals and medical clinics to minimize the lifelong debt that our client will have due to someone else injuring them.

Overall, this is a step in the right direction for Oregonians, although Oregon’s ongoing lack of bad faith insurance laws allow insurers to continue abusing injured people and business policyholders by failing to pay the claims and forcing people into litigation for serious, life altering losses by making settlement offers that are a fraction of their actual value. This is why seriously injured people, and businesses with large insurance losses are forced to hire trial lawyers to take the insurers to trial.

Our firm deals with a large percentage of Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist cases because we handle serious injury claims where the person who is at fault either didn’t have insurance, or didn’t have enough to cover our clients losses.

It is important that before you settle a case on your own, that you consult with a lawyer to determine if you will destroy your own Underinsured Motorist claim, as certain steps must be taken before settling a claim with the at-fault driver.

Aaron DeShaw, J.D., D.C.

28

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ARTICLE As I sat and pondered what to write for this spring 2015 publication, I found myself excited about where we are today compared with where we were in 2009 as we came together from two groups into one association. I found myself feeling good about what we have accomplished but concerned about how much more we still have to do. I gave a lot of thought to my goals as your Executive Director during 2015 and thereafter. What am I trying to accomplish for you?

It is the responsibility of the Executive Board to determine and advance the organization’s Mission and purposes. It is the duty of the Board to conduct organizational planning, ensure adequate funding, monitor and enhance the programs and services, ensure legal and ethical integrity, and support/direct the Executive Director. Recently we surveyed our members to see what is most important to them. Based on the results we now seek to implement strategies to best serve our members’ needs. Here is our game plan:

First and foremost we need to promote and increase active association membership. We need more members. There is power in numbers. Those numbers are especially important to our legislative committee and governmental affairs lobbyist as they seek support from our elected officials. My primary goal is to assist the membership committee in reaching out and engaging more new members. Once we enlist new members, my job is to ensure they are connected with the OCA communications. It is vital that each member reads their newsletters, checks their emails, and participates on both the OCA Facebook page and the OCA Listserve. The member listserve was created as a forum for members to talk about difficult cases, share ideas, relate to each other and give each other feedback on what is working and not working in their offices. Second, I want to encourage more participation by our members. While we have a solid core group of doctors that participate now, we need another level of participation in local meetings, OCA committees and/or re-activating the OCA Councils. With increased participation, I envision social gatherings where we can get together and simply enjoy sharing stories and being in the company of one another for the sake of camaraderie within our OCA membership. I want to give more individual members the recognition they are due for what they are doing within the profession, in their local communities and with regards to specialties that they might have. I am always reaching out to members across the state to forward news to the OCA office when something positive happens to you as part of your Chiropractic profession. I think that many of you enjoy sharing with others and they will enjoy reading about those successes. When you are successful, it helps each and every

Goals and

Accomplishments

29

other Chiropractor be more confident in the value of our profession and the great benefits available to the populations we serve. Third, I want to improve the events that we sponsor each year. Currently these include our Annual Convention and numerous continuing education opportunities. I work hard to bring national level speakers to our events. When these speakers come to our state they want to meet you and share their information with you in person. I want to really work on finding ways to promote both doctors and CAs attendance at these events because there is so much to be gained by participating in person. While many ask to view the video recordings, this eliminates the very useful opportunity to connect with colleagues on a personal level, to network, and learn on a more personal level. I encourage all members to participate and engage in person, and to utilize the video services only as an “emergency backup system”. The ability to ask questions, interact with others, and learn in a positive environment are all very important in the continuing education process. In addition, my goal is to be able to deliver events to different parts of the state again that only can be accomplished by active participation and attendance by you in the profession. Please watch for those events that might be coming to your part of the state and make an earnest effort to be present and supportive.

Last, I want to help search for our profession’s next generation of leaders. Positive change is the key. We are looking for those who are willing to take a bigger role in how our association moves forward. Those of you out there that have a VISION and are willing to step up and give back, the OCA needs YOU! It takes people willing to commit to making a difference. It takes people that can see the potential for change, are forward thinking, and who will be of service to others. Are you willing to contribute to the process of positive change? Positive change is the key. We need builders, those who can see the need for “path corrections” and who will develop constructive solutions and who will see these through their implementation. Growth requires change, and so often, change requires growth!

In 2014 we lost some amazing leaders for Chiropractic in Oregon. We reported the unfortunate passing of many senior doctors, mentors and leaders “In Memoriam”. That 2014 list consisted of Dr. John Schmidt (January 4), Dr. David MacFadden (January 9), Dr. Bob Pfeiffer (February 7), Dr. Bill Thoens (March 14), Dr. Roger Setera (May 15), Dr. Don Ferrante (June 30), and Dr. Alan Hall of LaGrande (September 23). These are significant losses to us in Oregon, both personally and professionally. These men were a special breed. They gave tremendously to this profession in terms of their time, their passion and of themselves. Who will fill those large shoes?

We have over five hundred DC members in the Oregon Chiropractic Association, but that number needs to double. Yes, OCA membership is one way of contributing to the profession. And yet we need more from each one of you. We need active participation by all. If you are willing to take that step, NOW is the time! Please reach out to me at the OCA office. Let’s find some way that you can contribute and help us move forward to both improve your Association and our amazing chiropractic profession as a whole!

“ALONE WE CAN DO SO LITTLE; TOGETHER WE CAN DO SO MUCH”. (Helen Keller)

Jan Ferrante

oCa DireCtor

OregOn ChirOpraCtiC assOCiatiOn

10570 SE Washington St. Suite 210Portland, OR 97216

Return Service Requested

GATTI, GATTI, MAIER , SAYER , THAYER , SMITH & ASSOCIATES

Gatti LawDedicated Personal Injury Trial Lawyers

• Automobile & Motorcycle

• Wrongful Death

• Product Failures

• On-The-Job Accidents & Injuries

• Medical Malpractice or Medical Negligence causing severe, permanent damage or death

• Sexual Abuse

• Class Action/Mass Tort/MDL

• Nursing Home/Care Facility Abuse

• Products Liability/Defective Medical Devices

Portland (503) 224-1524

Lake Oswego (503) 224-1524

Salem (503) 363-3443

Eugene (503) 343-6587

Toll Free 1-800-289-3443

www.gattilaw.com

Areas of law:

Proud Diamond Level Supporters of the OCA