- The Honorable Kevin Cramer
U.S. Senate
313 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510 - The Honorable Richard Blumenthal
U.S. Senate
503 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510 - The Honorable Greg Steube
United States House of Representatives
2457 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515 - The Honorable John Larson
United States House of Representatives
1501 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Senators Cramer and Blumenthal and Representatives Steube and Larson:
The undersigned medical professional organizations write to you in strong opposition to S. 106/H.R. 539, the “Chiropractic Medicare Coverage Modernization Act of 2025,” which would amend the Social Security Act’s definition of physician to extend Medicare coverage for services furnished by chiropractors beyond the manual manipulation of the spine.
This legislation would authorize chiropractors to use the title “physician” under the Medicare Part B program and be paid the same rate as allopathic (MD) and osteopathic (DO) physicians for manual manipulation of the spine as well as for any other medical services chiropractors are licensed to perform. By removing the current “manual manipulation” limitation in the Social Security Act, this bill opens the door for other services, which chiropractors have not been specifically trained to provide, and which could potentially put patient safety at risk, to be covered by Medicare.
Our organizations strongly support the team approach to patient care, with each member of the team playing a clearly defined role as determined by his or her education and training. However, a recent survey found that 27 percent of patients incorrectly identified chiropractors as medical doctors.1 This legislation would exacerbate such patient confusion and prompt further misconceptions and false expectations regarding the care they receive.
Read the full letter here.
