Michigan chiropractors will have one of their own to support in their state primary election on Aug.
So far, his biggest supporter - with the exception of his wife, who is also a DC - has been the Michigan Association of Chiropractors, with whom he has worked to educate state lawmakers about chiropractic and to advocate for the passage of Senate Bill 908, which would restore chiropractors' scope of practice to what it was before the restrictive 1978 rewrite of Michigan's public health code.
In a statement provided to Dynamic Chiropractic, Dr. Corosanite explained how he will promote chiropractic and patient rights if elected:
"I am very fortunate to have been part of the merger of the Michigan Chiropractic Association and the Michigan Chiropractic Society into the Michigan Association of Chiropractors (MAC). Part of my role over the past year has been to serve on the Governmental Relations Committee. The chief goal of that committee is to update the chiropractic scope of practice in Michigan.
"The MAC introduced similar legislation during the previous legislative session but ran into the old prejudiced mentality we have been fighting for decades. This bill had wide bipartisan support but never even got a vote. This year, the chairperson of the Senate Health Policy Committee - the committee charged with overseeing our scope restoration bill, Senate Bill 908 - is a medical doctor who has not supported a vote.
"It was after personally witnessing this that I realized something - that as hard as we worked, we would never get a fair shake until we had a DC serving in the legislature. Over the past year, my family and I put in a lot of consideration about running, and finally my wife and I decided to sell our practice and make a go of it. It has honestly required a great deal of personal sacrifice, but I feel we have a very good chance of winning.
"The scope legislation is something that I want to see accomplished. In addition, other critical legislative priorities include: co-pay equity legislation; "any willing provider" legislation; and making section 3475 of the Michigan Insurance Code - which states that if an insurance policy or certificate provides reimbursement for any service which may be legally performed by a person fully licensed as a doctor of chiropractic, reimbursement under the insurance policy or certificate shall not be denied if performed by a doctor of chiropractic - apply to every insurance company.
"The issues we face in our state regarding patient rights and equal access are the same as those seen across the nation. Discrimination is still very prevalent and there are many battles yet to win. When we see legislative victories in other states, it lifts everyone. It makes it a little easier for the next state to accomplish the same thing."
In a separate statement, Dr. Corosanite added:
Thus far, Corosanite's campaign efforts have included visiting various events and going door-to-door in a specially commissioned car emblazoned with his name and e-mail address on the sides. For more information about his ongoing campaign, visit www.jin08.com."Congress and state legislators have struggled to find ways to fund the growing expense of our nation's health care. Employers are cost shifting health benefit expenses to employees and more and more citizens are unable to afford benefits on their own.
"In the wake of this funding crisis there are three demographic and behavioral trends compounding our ailing health care system:
- Baby boomers are consuming health care services at unprecedented and ever-growing levels.
- The general public's growing waist lines are rapidly increasing the number of chronic disease cases that require prolonged, expensive care procedures.
- The drastic reduction of family practitioners is leaving patients without generalized sickness prevention and health maintenance information.
- "We can help address these three health challenges by expanding the role of chiropractors [in health care]. Expanding the DC's role helps to address the dwindling number of medically based family practitioners. As importantly, chiropractic can bring its wellness measures to bear on a population that needs to learn the difference between sickness care and sickness prevention."