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July 2004 Table of Contents
Fuhr and Activator Split from
State Associations, Back Insurer Bill
By Alan M. Immerman, DC
Alan M. Immerman, D.C., has been licensed
in Arizona since 1980. He is responsible for the passage of four major insurance
equality laws over the past seventeen years. Dr. Immerman is President of
Independent Chiropractic Physicians, the largest and oldest state association in
Arizona. He can be reached at 928.522.0600 or by email at
amimmerman@direcpc.com
In the 2004 session of the Arizona Legislature, Activator
Methods International (AMI) and AMI President Arlan Fuhr, D.C., split from both
major Arizona state chiropractic associations and supported a bill advanced by
United HealthCare and the insurance industry.
The legislation passed the Arizona Legislature and will
become law on January 1, 2005, largely because of the support of AMI. With such
support, legislators claimed that “even the state chiropractic associations are
split on this issue.”
The new law will allow all insurers to single out spinal
adjustments for medical necessity review. Existing law, Arizona Revised Statutes
20-461, requires that medical necessity review be applied “equally” to all
professions with no discrimination against the usual and customary procedures of
any type of profession. After January 1, 2005, the profession can expect heavy
emphasis on spinal adjustment when insurers conduct medical necessity review.
The first hearing in the Arizona State Legislature was held
on February 12, 2004. The two major associations in Arizona, Independent
Chiropractic Physicians (ICP) and the Arizona Association of Chiropractic (AAC),
both testified against SB 1094, the United HealthCare and insurance industry
bill. At the same hearing, according to the formal minutes which are available
online, Steven Conway, General Counsel, Activator Methods International,
testified in support of the bill. This can be confirmed by going to the Internet
site for the Arizona Legislature at www.azleg.state.az.us, hitting the button
for “Standing Committees,” then “Senate Health Committee,” and then scroll down
and strike the button for “2/12/04.”
Michael Williams, lobbyist for United HealthCare, stated
during the February 12, 2004 Senate Health Committee hearing that United had the
support of a large chiropractic association named “AMI” in Arizona. Mr. Williams
went on to say that Arlan Fuhr is not just a single chiropractor anymore than
famous Phoenix heart surgeon Ted Dietrich is just another cardiologist. Mr.
Williams lauded Dr. Fuhr as a leader of the profession. At the same hearing both
the ICP and the AAC testified against the insurance industry legislation.
For years, Dr. Fuhr was Chairman of the AAC Public Policy
Committee, which set the AAC’s agenda for legislative matters. Sometime in 2004
there was an apparent split between Dr. Fuhr and the AAC leading AMI to
establish its own lobbying presence at the Legislature. In an article published
in Dynamic Chiropractic, April 22, 2004, Volume 22, Issue 09, Dr. Fuhr wrote:
“The most serious problems chiropractors have created for themselves have come
from our internal disunity and resulting tendency to speak with multiple
voices.” This statement came shortly after Dr. Fuhr split from the AAC and
established AMI as a separate political organization in Arizona.
Dr. Fuhr continued in the DC article: “On the one hand, we
want to encourage new doctors to join their state associations and get involved
in activities, including the legislative process. On the other hand, the
‘youngsters’ will usually lack the know-how of the seasoned veterans. Why would
a recent graduate be familiar with strategies for hiring the best available
lobbyists, or how to manage lobbyists once they are on board? How could the
newcomer to the legislative process hope to understand the culture of lobbyists,
who have their own ways of working with legislators and with the lobbying
community itself?”
It was reported by legislators that the AMI lobbyist
claimed that AMI has 800 members in Arizona. Both the ICP and the AAC have about
150 members each and expressed doubt that 800 Arizona chiropractors joined AMI
for the purpose of gaining political representation at the Arizona Legislature.
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