On Friday, the Texas Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Texas Chiropractic Board and the Texas Chiropractic Association after a ten-year battle with the Texas Medical Association over whether chiropractors in the state of Texas may include the nervous system and brain, rather than the narrow focus of the spine, in their scope of practice.  TMA argued that any reference to nerves in the chiropractic scope of practice authorized chiropractors to diagnose any neurological condition, which TMA argued, was the practice of medicine.  The Court provided the necessary clarity in Texas, and perhaps throughout the United States, that the Board rule, “merely recognizes the reality that musculoskeletal dysfunctions cannot be diagnosed or treated without considering associated nerves.”  Id. at p. 23.  The Court went on to say, “Simply put, a healthcare provider cannot diagnose a problem without ruling out other potential causes of the problem.  In other words, making a differential diagnosis is an unavoidable part of making a diagnosis.  Virtually any problem that a chiropractor treats could potentially have a non-chiropractic source.”  Id. at 27.

An Appeals Court has upheld the 2013 PIP Law exclusion of payment reimbursements for massage or any service by a licensed massaged therapist (LMT).

You could be owed money from Geico Companies if you treated an insured GEICO patient with a PIP deductible during the time that GEICO reduced the deductible between 2012 and 2019.  Read further to learn how to submit a claim and to learn how you can recover settlement funds at no cost.

Just before the close of 2018, and in an unusual unanimous decision by the Florida Supreme Court, the years-old issue of how a PIP insurer should apply the deductible to medical bills was finally decided in favor of the providers!  In this case with Florida Hospital, it meant the difference of $200 on one $2,800 bill.  See Progressive Select Ins. Co. v. Florida Hospital Medical Center, 44 Fla. L. Weekly S59a (Fla. December 28, 2018)

The FCA has become aware of several non-chiropractic physician arrests in Palm Beach County and Broward County for selling, distributing and/or possessing CBD with any trace amounts of THC, including the legally allowed limit under Federal law of .03%.  No chiropractic physicians that we are aware of were arrested.

Just recently, the Florida Supreme Court agreed to hear the issue regarding the application of the PIP deductible.  For years now, the county, circuit, and now appellate courts have issued varying opinions on how insurance companies should apply the PIP deductible.  To the provider’s office, it can mean a couple of hundred bucks on each patient carrying a PIP deductible.  To the insurance companies, it can mean millions.

Third District Court of Appeal Upholds Lower Court Decision That the Disparity in EMC Evaluations Does Not Violate Equal Protection

Last week the Third District Court of appeal upheld a lower court decision stating it was lawful to preclude a chiropractic physician from performing an EMC determination under the PIP statute, finding that part of the PIP statute did not violate the equal protection clause of the Florida Constitution.  Progressive American Ins. Co. v. Eduardo J. Garrido, D.C., P.A. 

     HMOs that offer services through a managed care system must offer that care through a system in which a primary physician licensed as a chiropractor is designated for each HMO subscriber upon request of a subscriber requesting chiropractic services.¹ The designated chiropractic physician is responsible for coordinating chiropractic care the subscriber requests.² Stated differently, a chiropractic physician must be assigned to each HMO subscriber who wants chiropractic care. That designated chiropractic physician is the gate keeper for that subscriber’s chiropractic care and either treats the subscriber or refers the subscriber to another chiropractic physician on panel for medically necessary care.³