ICS Goes to Capitol Hill (2026)
The Illinois Chiropractic Society sent a contingent of chiropractic physicians and staff to Washington, D.C., on January 22, 2026, to meet with members of the Illinois congressional delegation. The mission was part of the American Chiropractic Association’s “Engage 2026” initiative, bringing together doctors of chiropractic and other stakeholders to meet with members of Congress and participate in professional development through panel discussions, lectures, and presentations from respected thought leaders.
The Chiropractic Medicare Coverage Modernization Act has been reintroduced in the new 119th U.S. Congress. The bills, H.R. 539 in the House of Representatives and S. 106 in the U.S. Senate, are identical to the bills introduced in the last three sessions of Congress. In essence, the bills would authorize the federal Medicare program to provide reimbursement for all chiropractic treatments that are within the scope of the practicing chiropractic physician providing the care. Currently, Medicare only provides reimbursement for spinal manipulation.
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In the last session, the legislation garnered 180 bi-partisan co-sponsors in the House of Representatives. The strategy is to increase co-sponsorship to 200 members, thus triggering a committee hearing on the bill. So far in this session, 145 congresspersons have signed on as co-sponsors. In Illinois, six representatives have signed on as co-sponsors to the bill: Congresswomen Mary Miller (R-15) and Jan Schakowsky (D-9), and Congressmen Darin LaHood (R-16), Mike Bost (R-12), Brad Schneider (D-10), and Eric Sorensen (D-17). Rep. Schakowsky signed onto the bill immediately after the ICS visit to her office on Jan. 22.
During the recent Washington trip, the ICS team concentrated on those Illinois congresspersons who had not yet committed to co-sponsorship.
Dr. Cindy Howard, Dr. Julie Bird, and ICS staff, Marc Abla, and Ben Schwarm were making the pitch on the Hill. Splitting into small teams, the group stopped by almost every Illinois congressional office. Due to the hectic legislative schedule in Washington, many times the office holder was not available for the meetings. In those cases, the Illinois contingent met with upper-level health care staffers.
The ICS group met with Congressman Bill Foster (D-11), Congressman Mike Bost (R-12), and Congresswoman Delia Ramirez (D-3). They met with the staff of Congresswomen Jan Schakowsky, Nikki Budzinski (D-13), Robin Kelly (D-2), and Mary Miller. The ICS team visited the offices of the other members of the Illinois delegation and dropped off information on the bill for their review. The ICS will be following up with all of the representatives who have yet to sign on to H.R. 539. The ICS strongly urges its members to contact their Congresspersons and our U.S. Senators and encourage them to support the legislation.
