Majority of DCs want accounting of NCLAF donations
A survey of doctors of
chiropractic has revealed that, although most gave donations to the American
Chiropractic Association's (ACA) National Chiropractic Legal Action Fund (NCLAF),
they do not feel the organization has spent the money responsibly.
In addition, they feel
the ACA should be accountable to the profession for the millions of dollars
it has raised to unsuccessfully fight lawsuits against Trigon Health Care
and the Medicare system.
In an open letter to
the ACA, Terry A Rondberg, DC, president of the World Chiropractic Alliance
and publisher of The Chiropractic Journal ‑‑ who personally gave
$10,000 to the fund ‑‑ asked the group to account for the more than seven
million dollars it says it raised for the legal fund. Among the questions he
asked were:
** How much money has
been collected?
** How much money has
been spent?
** How much money does
the ACA take from donations for management and fund raising?
** Who bore the cost of
promotion and travel? What were these costs?
** How much money has
come from ACA, and how much from other sources?
** Are donations from
other sources being used to reimburse ACA for ACA's contributions?
** Is there an audited
accounting available to donors?
** Who is making
decisions on how to proceed? Is there a democratic process involving the
donors in the decision making process?
** Who is responsible
for deciding to appeal the case?
In addition, Dr.
Rondberg asked the ACA to address questions regarding the hiring of
Chicago‑based McAndrews, Held & Malloy, whose founder and senior partner is
attorney George McAndrews, brother of Jerome McAndrews, DC, the ACA's
national spokesperson. He specifically asked the ACA to tell the profession:
... How many hours has
Mr. McAndrews' firm billed for each of the two lawsuits?
... What are the hourly
rates charged by the attorneys involved?
... In addition to
attorney fees, what additional costs were incurred?
Another question was
spurred by disturbing reports from several doctors that the ACA was
continuing to debit their credit cards for ongoing donations, even though
the doctors did not knowingly agree to this. Some doctors said they found it
nearly impossible to discontinue the donations once they decided not to
support the NCLAF.
The letter was printed
in two consecutive issues of The Chiropractic Journal along with a
five‑question survey for doctors about their positions on the questions. The
questionnaire was also posted on the WCA website.
Approximately 82% of
all doctors responding to the survey indicated they had donated to the NCLAF,
yet less than 10% felt the money had been responsibly spent. More than 90%
of those who answered the survey said they felt the ACA should be
accountable to the profession about the money raised for the lawsuits, and
82% said the ACA has not adequately addressed concerns about the money.
One respondent, a DC
from California, enclosed a letter with his survey. In it, he called the
legal arrangement with the McAndrews law firm a conflict of interest. "In
this scenario, there is no incentive to win or motive to realize one is
losing the battle and back off and re‑consider the strategy," he noted. He
added that the only proper way to have handled the case would have been on a
contingency basis, where the legal firm receives a portion of the monetary
judgment if ‑‑ and only if ‑‑ they win the case.
Although the
questionnaire was an unscientific survey, Rondberg says he's confident it
reflects the general attitudes of the profession. "The ACA has never
answered these questions and it appears that it has no intention of
answering them, no matter how many doctors demand an accounting," he stated.
"The Chiropractic Coalition, comprised of the International Chiropractors
Association, Federation of Straight Chiropractors and Organizations and
World Chiropractic Alliance, has urged doctors to withhold financial support
from the ACA. But at this point, we have donated millions of dollars. We
deserve to have our questions answered rather than being ignored."
