CALL TO ACTION

Chiropractic Lobby Day Update – Your Immediate Action Needed!

On Tuesday, May 03, 2011, members of the NYSCA and Council’s Joint Legislative Task Force met with key legislators in Albany regarding our priority legislative items for 2011.The meetings proved to be effective and productive.   Members from both parties in the Senate and Assembly agreed to sponsor and support our legislation.

NEW YORK STATE JOINT LEGISLATIVE TASK FORCE CALL TO ACTION

We need your help!  We strongly support two very important pieces of legislation and want you to do the same.  We need you to send a letter to your local legislator asking them to sign on as sponsors and support both of these pieces of legislation.   We also need you to have your patients write letters of support.  All the information you need to act is below.

Issue 1 – S5012/A7403Permits doctors of chiropractic to form limited liability companies

S5012, sponsored by Senator Charles Fuschillo, and A7403, sponsored by Assemblyman Vito Lopez has been introduced in both houses.  This bill would amend the limited liability company law, the business corporation law, the partnership law and the public health law to allow doctors of chiropractors to form partnerships with medical doctors.

TAKE THESE THREE ACTION STEPS

Step One:  Download the “Doctor’s Letter to Legislators.”

Doctor's Letter to Assembly Membe

Doctor's Letter to Senator

Step Two:  Send the signed letters to your local Assembly person and your local Senator.

Step Three:  Use the below links to find your local legislators if you don’t know who they are.  Get involved and do something!  The letter writing campaign is simple and can be done in your office.  Stop complaining, become proactive and participate!

Find Your Local NY State Assembly Member

Find Your Local NY State Senator

Issue 2 - S3741/A6294 Relates to application of guidelines for medical treatment for injured workers; prohibits retroactive application

This bill would prohibit the application of the medical treatment guidelines to workers compensation patients who had a date of accident or date of disablement prior to December 1, 2010.

A few weeks ago a call to action on this legislation already went out.  We hope that you have already acted and sent letters to your local legislators.  We now need more personalized letters from you and your patients to go to the local legislators and to Governor Andrew Cuomo.  The form letters were great, but we now want you to ask at least five (5) of your patients to write a personalized letter to their legislator explaining how the medical treatment guidelines are personally impacting them.

TAKE THESE FIVE ACTION STEPS

Step One:  Identify at least five patients to write a personalized letter to their local Assembly member and Senator talking about how the new medical treatment guidelines are impacting them and how this legislation could help them get relief.  You can give the talking points below to your patient to help get them started but make sure they include their own story.

Talking Points

Step Two:  Provide your patient with the appropriate information.  You are asking the patient to write three letters.  The body of the letters can be the same, but you are asking them to send the personalized letter to their local Assembly person, their local Senator and Governor Andrew Cuomo.  You also want your patient to send a copy of Assembly letter to Assemblyman Keith Wright, Legislative Office Building 522, Albany, NY 12248 and a copy of the Senate letter to Senator George Maziarz, Legislative Office Building 708, Albany, NY 12247.

Step Three:  You want your patient to send their letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo as well.  This letter will be sent to The Honorable Andrew Cuomo, Governor of New York State, NYS Capitol Building, Albany, NY 12224.

Step Four:   Provide your patient with the below links if they do not know who their local legislator is.

Find Your Local NY State Assembly Member

Find Your Local NY State Senator

Step Five:  You write a personalized letter to your local Assembly person, Senator and Governor Cuomo telling them how the current medical treatment guidelines are affecting you and your patients.  Explain to them the importance of passing this legislation and getting some relief to the current problem.  We want you to write the letter in your own words but please keep in mind your audience.  You want to be coherent and respectful while still making your point.  Below are talking points that you can use.  .  Get involved and do something!  The letter writing campaign is simple and can be done in your office.  Stop complaining, become proactive and participate!

Talking Points

Further details can be obtained by attending a monthly NYSCA District meeting in your area or by contacting the NYSCA Legislative Chairman: Donald Littlejohn, DC