President Trump has signed the Jobs for Our Heroes Act (Senate Bill 1393), which stipulates that DCs employed within the Department of Veterans Affairs are among the providers eligible to perform the medical exam required for veterans to operate a commercial vehicle.
However, S1393 "enables advanced practice nurses, doctors of chiropractic, and physician assistants, who are eligible to receive a medical examiner certification under the traditional FMCSA process, to qualify to be certified under a VA-specific alternative process. The VA process was established under the FAST Act and currently can only be used by doctors of medicine and doctors of osteopathy at the VA to become qualified to perform medical examinations on eligible veterans and issue the medical certificates required for such veterans to operate commercial motor vehicles."
The act now defines as "qualified examiner" as being "employed by the [DVA] as an advanced practice nurse, doctor of chiropractic, doctor of medicine, doctor of osteopathy, physician assistant, or other medical professional ... licensed, certified, or registered in a State to perform physical examinations ... [and] familiar with the standards for, and physical requirements of, an operator required to be medically certified."
As discussed by Mike Megehee, DC, in 2012 the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) released a final rule regarding the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners that included doctors of chiropractic in the eligible provider list. With limited exceptions, commercial drivers are required to utilize a NRCME provider to complete their CDL physicals.
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