Deya vu all over again
By
JCS
Indeed, the more things change in the chiropractic healthcare industry, the more some chirovangelists stay the same. Examples are numerous, such as the demise of Big $id as an autocratic phony educator who exploited his students unlike any college prez in the history of civilization or the many “foolosophers” who still preach vitalism/cultism in this day of evidence-based healthcare.
We also see the same demagoguery espoused by yellow journalists that condemn progress and reform in order to keep their small grip on power, albeit waning quickly as more highly educated graduates enter our profession. Whereas in the first century of this dysfunction profession, most DCs were young, uneducated, naïve and very apolitical, thus making them susceptible to any charismatic con-artist who came along espousing vitalism and promising great wealth—the Money Hum characterized this deplorable situation where hungry DCs were inundated with images of “gold or silver, whatever turns you on” as the shamed guru once chanted.
Sadly, sociopathic behavior still exists among our ranks, promoted by free tabloids published by psychopaths who have no morals or professional ethics. Of course, Terry Wrongberg comes to mind instantly—the nefarious non-practitioner and publisher of a non-professional and laughable free tabloid as well as the fanciful dictator for life of the vendor-driven WCA that has been publicly denounced as a sham by the ACA as well as denounced by 13 foreign national associations for his misguided shenanigans in political affairs that are obviously much above his head.
Indeed, if there’s a fly in the ointment, it is the infamous Terry Wrongberg, and it’s about time someone swats this annoying fly, ya folla?
This outspoken sociopath has attacked many legitimate leaders in our profession without ever giving equal space for retort—a classic sign of unethical yellow journalism. For instance, he has attempted to character assassinate even me, a little ol’ country chiropractor from middle Georgia, on more than one occasion in his free tabloid. He even suggested I was being investigated by my state board and that he was suing me for remarks made about his phony RCS scam. In fact, nothing was further from the truth—I was not investigated by my board and I was never sued for exposing him as an intellectual fraud. He’s simply blowing smoke for attention at someone else’s expense—typical demagoguery.
With his poisoned pen in hand from his spider hole, he has attacked other notables such as major college presidents who disagree with his con-job mindset, his student WCA brown shirts, or political rivals who expose his hidden agendas and phony appeals to the masses. This second-rate demagogue continues with his senseless attack against Dr. Lou Sportelli in his December edition of his fanciful tabloid.
Dr. Lou is an easy target for a sociopath like Wrongberg since he is perhaps the most influential and productive man in our profession over the past 40 or more years. Whereas many have earned their reputations of ill-repute by espousing chirovangelism, selling diplomas, or teaching questionable practice management methods, Dr. Lou has taken the high road in his quest to improve this profession. Wrongberg’s attack on him illustrates the pathetic life of this failed WCA dictator who lashes out at one who has actually accomplished meaningful tasks to make his reputation rather than simply using a poisoned pen.
To read such yellow journalism repeatedly makes me wonder what color the sky is in Wrongbergland. This man is simply not sane in his appeal to his readership, and his attack without the possibility of a fair and balanced response by Dr. Lou is indicative of his continual unethical journalism. If anyone takes anything TR says as accurate, it only shows how ignorant some DCs remain.
Enjoy my response to TR’s recent slanderous and misleading article.
December 2007
Should Dr. Sportelli act as our moral arbiter? [Yes, especially in comparison to TR]
by Dr. Terry A. Rondberg
We’re nearing the New Year and it’s traditional to review the past to assess our progress and set future goals [Such as the WCA Ober Alles!]. At least one chiropractic writer Louis Sportelli, DC took the opportunity recently in Dynamic Chiropractic to look back over the past 20 years and wonder “How Far Have We Really Come?”
After reprinting an article he wrote in 1984, in which he placed much of the blame for the problems facing chiropractic on rampant “avarice and greed” within chiropractic, he came to the conclusion that we, as a profession, haven’t progressed very far. As he put it, “we are almost in the same situation today.” [Sadly, Dr. Lou’s absolutely correct—we are still plagued by evil vendors, yellow journalists, academic frauds, and unethical practice managers, ya folla? The day when our profession is rid of these parasites is when we will have made progress!]
Throughout his original article, as well as his recent review, he points to “an element of this profession which is not only greedy, but is attempting to teach and promulgate its greed throughout the profession. I’m talking about the practice builders who tell you about the baits and lures for hooking patients, the easy money formulas, and the ‘bring ’em in dead or alive’ insurance schemes.”
[Lou could also include yellow journalists like TR who swing deals with evil vendors in a advertisements-for-columns scam, sponsor research scams like RCS, or run non-democratic “alliances” like the sham WCA. TR’s free tabloid has long been known as a vendor’s rag due to his pay-to-write policy. A publication’s editorial integrity demands a distinct differentiation between those who advertise and those who write articles, otherwise the publication becomes a “mouthpiece” for the advertisers.
[According to an article in Dynamic Chiropractic, the following quote is from the publisher of the WCA Chiropractic Journal, Terry A. Rondberg, who is responding to a letter from a chiropractor inquiring about the possibility of writing for the Chiropractic Journal. Dr. Rondberg’s letter of response to the potential columnist is dated November 28, 1995.
“I am interested in writers who advertise — for every full page ad, I would be willing to offer you a column …” ]
He also claims that “I am denouncing procedures and protocols that are less than ethical, push the envelope to the limit, border on exploiting the patient and the provider, cause irreparable harm to the global image of the profession, and forsake doctor patient trust for patient abuse.”
Who would possibly disagree with him on those statements? Yes, there is an unsavory element in this profession, one that is motivated by greed (for money, power, acceptance, stature, etc.) and conducts and/or teaches unethical procedures. [Is TR making an admission of guilt since he’s exactly all of the above?]
There are also those DCs who are guilty of sexual misconduct with patients … practice outside their scope … over-bill insurance companies for a variety of tests and treatments … attempt to pass themselves off as medical doctors. These are all deplorable actions and should not be tolerated by our profession. [There TR goes with his customary demagoguery—“to pass themselves off as medical doctors.” Does he equate competence in evidence based care as “medical”? If so, then 90% of DCs can be accused of it, except for the 10% of shysters and chirovangelists like him and his WCA ilk.]
Saying that, however, is like saying we shouldn’t tolerate graft by politicians, embezzlement by accountants, or brutality by police officers. Of course we shouldn’t! [So, if TR is about reform, when will TR stop with his RCS scam, his sham WCA, and his yellow journalism?]
But many types of behavior aren’t so black and white. [Like TR’s yellow journalism and unethical political interference posing as a “prez of the WCA” when, in reality, he’s a self-appointed con-artist fooling naïve DCs and legislators.]
For instance, Dr. Sportelli refers to the controversial “money hum” made famous by Sid Williams, DC, at the Dynamic Essentials seminars [and Life College every Thursday mornings at his 11 o’clock sermons]. That practice may have been in questionable taste or even laughable, but unethical? [Yes! It epitomizes the greed that typifies Williams and his DE Dudes, including too many naïve Lifers, aka, $idiots.] No one seems to remember that participants also chanted “I feel healthy, I feel happy, I feel terrific.” Sounds to me like good, positive “prosperity” thinking! [Arrghh, kill me now, please. For TR to somehow justify Big $id’s greedy and unethical nonsense illustrates he’s of the same fabric—evil vendors trying to exploit naïve students, ya folla?]
Dr. Sportelli also points to “hucksters” who teach doctors to “Get ’em on a 10month program.” [Just 10 months? According to TR, it should be a lifetime program and if you pay in advance, it’s only $150,000.] Personally, I think doctors should get all patients on a lifetime program [See, I told you so!], since the need for subluxation correction doesn’t end after 10 months. Long term care is, for Dr. Sportelli, a bad thing to be stamped out by our profession. For me, it’s an important goal for our profession and one that will help restore health to our entire population. [There he goes again with his disease mongering—lifetime care for asymptomatic patients in order to avoid the Killer Subluxation. Incidentally, there is a huge difference between palliative or supportive care for chronic spinal problems versus elective care for asymptomatic patients. For TR to beat his drum that they’re one-in-the-same is simply disingenuous and more demagoguery. BTW: does TR practice “lifetime” maintenance care himself—okay, stop laughing!]
Among the other transgressions Dr. Sportelli cites are “testimonials which claimed cures from everything from AIDS to Zoacanthosis.” If these were patient testimonials, he can hardly blame the doctors if their patients, grateful for the gift of health they received from their DCs, wrote in glowing, if inaccurate, terms. In my two and a half decades as a chiropractor, I literally cannot recall a single instance of a DC claiming to “cure” these conditions. What I have seen and unconditionally approve of are ads or patient education material explaining the devastating impact of subluxations and how subluxation correction helps restore the body’s normal functioning, which can, in turn, address health issues as varied as AIDS to Zoacanthosis. [Then where are the studies that support these miracles? If “chiro cures all via Innate” as chirovangelists purport, then simply prove them. Indeed, perhaps many are placebo effect or emotional changes, but until we can prove them scientifically, the Big Idea is merely blowing more smoke, ya folla? Even Harvey Lillard reportedly was stone deaf when he died, yet chirovangelists still preach his “cure”.]
In many instances, the actions Dr. Sportelli deplores don’t appear to be inherently bad or unethical. [Something’s wrong when TR agrees with Dr. Lou.] Promoting long term care, teaching about subluxation correction for wellness, striving to maximize income by providing high quality care to as many patients as possible, and even using creative and innovative marketing techniques are not unethical to me or to many (if not most) of my colleagues. [Wait: Lou didn’t mention these.] Nor is it wrong for management consultants to teach these methods, or to encourage doctors to strive for prosperity. [I guess TR is placating those evil vendors who advertise in his free tabloid. But his praise is simply more smoke to rationalize spurious methods used for years that haunt our profession’s image. Perhaps practitioners like TR are the reason why we rank so low in image among healthcare professionals?]
The real question we have had to answer throughout our history is who gets to determine what’s ethical? Whose opinion will regulate the profession? Or, put another way, who will be given the authority to act as official “censor” for chiropractic? [FYI: TR, the legitimate chiro orgs like state licensing boards act as censors already—like the Arizona board that busted TR for illegal campaign contributions. Ironically, for TR to broach the issue of ethics is equivalent to Caesar Chavez lecturing to Americans about democracy! TR ranks among the most unethical DCs this profession has ever had the displeasure to hear, ranking up there with Big $id and other shysters!]
Censorship, in general, is a tricky issue. [Why does he make my skin crawl when TR talks about censorship? What about TR’s yellow journalism where he attacks people w/o the ethics of allowing them to respond beforehand? The mere fact that TR never allows this is his own form of censorship, ya folla?] When it comes to the film industry, I have very strong views as to what kinds of movies are bad. Browse around your local video store and take a look at some of the films being released right now. I see the violent and (to me) pornographic images splashed across the DVD boxes and my first reaction is “they shouldn’t allow such trash to be made.” [Geez, I feel the same about TR’s free tabloid!]
Give me the authority and I’d probably outlaw those movies! [From the mouth of a sociopath who ignores the leadership of the ACA, ICA, WFC and 13 foreign national associations that have rebuked his WCA, I don’t think TR should speak of authority inasmuch as he has none.] Give others that power, and they’d probably outlaw other types of films they find objectionable but which I think are acceptable. [Of course—TR’s reality is unique, like any sociopath’s, ya folla?]
That’s why we fight so hard against censorship by any single person or group. In a free society, we can’t allow any one group to impose its set of values on all of us, particularly as it relates to the gray areas of conduct. [As a sociopath, TR would never agree to anyone’s leadership other than his own, which explains why his outlaw WCA still persists although it represent 0.004% of the profession and he still misrepresents himself as a “leading/major” association.]
So, the bottom line is who should serve as moral arbiter for the chiropractic profession, as its “censor” so to speak? [Okay, stop laughing! The more TR speaks on censorship, the longer his nose grows, ya folla? Of anyone in this profession, TR is the last one who should lecture us on ethics!]
Personally, although I’m sure he has many good qualities [then why hasn’t TR ever mentioned them or given Dr. Lou credit for the many accomplishments he’s achieved? Instead, TR has only taken cheap shots at this legitimate leader.] , I am not comfortable with allowing Dr. Sportelli to act in that role. [TR wouldn’t be “comfortable” with anyone other than himself. Indeed, has he ever followed the advice of anyone?] His record of maligning and attacking subluxation based chiropractors simply for their adherence to their principles [Another TR-created falsehood considering Gerry Clum of the ICA is the current WFC prez! This is another example of his demagoguery and yellow journalism!] clearly makes him far too biased to act objectively [Okay, stop gagging—of all people to speak “objectively,” TR is the furthest from the truth.]. He views chiropractic (as we all do) through his own tinted glasses. [Geez, the bullsh*t is getting knee-deep, ya folla?]
The NCMIC empire
As president of the NCMIC Group, which provides insurance to medical doctors, dentists, naturopaths, and lawyers, as well as chiropractors, Dr. Sportelli has been put in the awkward position of catering to professions that are at odds with chiropractors.
[NCMIC does insure Naturopaths, MDs, and dentists. I am at a loss to understand the statement of being in an “awkward position of catering to professions at odds with chiropractors”? Now if you want odds with chiropractors, TR’s carrier, CAN, is the largest company for Workers Comp and Auto insurance. Why doesn’t he get them to include chiropractors in their WC coverage first, pay them better, and do the same with auto? On the grand scale in significance with CNA, Rondberg’s CBS is not even a pimple, and if there is any influence to exert, why doesn’t he exert it with CNA for the global good of the profession in WC and auto? Methinks TR has a double standard here—do as I say, not as I do, ya folla?]
Several years ago, for instance, he spoke at an insurance industry meeting and painted a rather grim portrait of our profession. [Rightfully so as long as “freaks” like TR print yellow tabloids and run sham associations.] The Auto Insurance Report stated that “Sportelli is willing to tell his fellow practitioners that too many of them are crooks … the business has become a haven for crooks … professional boards are toothless wimps who can’t enforce anything and at best can ‘gum to death’ practitioners who step out of line.” [Finally, an honest appraisal of our profession from someone who knows, unlike TR and his WCA con-artists who operate the RCS, JVSR, among other ignoble enterprises.]
The article also revealed that Dr. Sportelli said insurers who paid out these chiropractic claims were “too lazy to do anything about the crooks, preferring just to pay the bills and pass along the costs to their customers.” [Now we see the real response from a suspicious insurance industry that detests “lifetime care” mumbo-jumbo—the gross limitations on our care. Thanks, TR, for ruining our care plans due to your excessive treatment plans!]
After listening to him, I’m sure most of the people in the audience left thinking that chiropractic was filled with crooks and schemers who over-treat their patients in order to bilk insurance companies of undeserved income. [Not only insurance folks think like that, but many in the public do too—the first thing I hear from many patients is “I don’t want to come back forever.”] I’m not willing to allow someone with such a dismal view of our profession act as its censor. [Methinks an honest leader will tell followers what they need to hear, not just what they want to hear. Obviously TR can’t handle the truth, ya folla?]
It’s ironic, too, that for someone who would never chant the money hum, Dr. Sportelli has managed to help create quite a nice financial empire. [Why is that ironic? Sounds like Dr. Lou has built an ethical empire that hasn’t exploited students like Big $id did.] NCMIC Group not only sells insurance to five different professions, it has a subsidiary called NCMIC Finance Corporation which offers equipment leases and loans, credit cards and credit card processing. It also provides HIPAA training (for a fee), continuing ed seminars (for a fee), SBA loans (for a fee), books and publications (for a fee) and a myriad of other services (for a fee). Making a profit does not seem to be unethical in this context. [Geez, is TR daffy or what? Making a profit in an ethical manner is not the same as what TR does with his phony WCA, RCS scam, and even his CBS insurance brokerage, which is the real hidden agenda behind TR’s rant. Methinks TR is terribly jealous of Dr. Lou, ya folla?]
Triad
One of the entities spawned by NCMIC and founded by Dr. Sportelli, is Triad, a PPO type organization. I think Jeffrey Shay, DC, one of the most knowledgeable insurance experts in the profession, put it best when he said that “dealing with NCMIC is like reliving Greek mythology. Hercules was sent to destroy the Hydra, a huge snake with nine heads. Every time he cut one head off, two more grew in its place. This should help explain the existence of the ACA, NCMIC, Triad, FCER and several other organizations.” [Just who the hell is Shay? One of TR’s WCA members, no doubt. His remarks are senseless and stupid, enuf sed.]
In the speech he gave to members of the insurance industry, Dr. Sportelli promoted Triad. The Auto Insurance Report article noted that “He (Dr. Sportelli) says that there is a need for protocols for treatment of soft tissue and skeletal injuries, and that Triad is the best way to get the job done. He hopes to add value by ‘organizing’ the way treatment is given and requiring chiropractors to track results. Triad, he claims, gives providers a common language, practice strategy, and a mandate to share information and data.” The report also noted that, “unsaid in all this is that Triad… should prove to be a valuable way to reduce outright fraud and excessive treatment by chiropractors.” [Apparently TR is unaware of evidence-based guidelines that is the state-of-the-profession nowadays. Sounds perfectly reasonable to me, but let’s see what TR has to say…]
Triad has been criticized by many in the profession for imposing unfair standards on DCs, and using extortion like practices to pressure doctors into joining the network. [More unsubstantiated rumor-mongering. Who are these “many in the profession” and what are the “unfair standards”? Just another example of TR’s demagoguery!]
The last I heard, member doctors are required to pay a hefty fee for a “Self Assessment Program” (known as “SAP”) developed by Dr. Sportelli. They are also required to take Triad’s riskmanagement seminar, at a cost of another few hundred dollars, and carry $1 million/$3 million limits of liability. Since most Triad members also have their malpractice insurance through NCMIC, these high limits translate into increased revenue for the insurance company. [TR’s generalizations are exaggerations that imply unethical behavior to the naïve, but for those of us who’ve been in business forever, it’s commonplace for MCOs to require SAP, it’s mandatory for every DC to take risk management courses, and to have $1m/$3m in insurance. So why does TR make it appear otherwise? Again, I ask: is he totally daff or what?]
There have been numerous reports of withheld payments, claims rejections and reductions, and administrative snafus. [Again, where is the proof of these allegations? And doesn’t every MCOs do the same to those who fall outside the bounds of UCR? To suggest Triad is the only one is unfair.] When Triad tried to gain a foothold in Pennsylvania, critics of Triad [Who are they? Nameless “critics” are probably TR and his son-in-law, Tim Feuling.] sent a letter to colleagues warning them that Triad was beginning a push to recruit members in their state. The letter noted: “Triad negotiates contracts with major insurers to manage (cut) chiropractic care. Their program has seriously hurt, and has financially ruined many chiropractors in other states.” [Sounds like ASHN and ACN, not Triad.]
[For the record, TR’s main self-serving motivation in this issue is obvious: His CBS was penalized by the Penn. Insurance Commissioner for false advertising: The advertisements touted by CBS made it appear that its malpractice insurance is something special for the “subluxation-based chiropracTORs,” which is just unrealistic. According to Timothy Feuling, “CBS insures ‘any doctor who corrects subluxations regardless of whatever else they do as long as they don’t practice medicine and try and diagnose disease.’” Perhaps this explains why the Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Diane Koken reprimanded CBS a few years ago for deceptive advertising: “Chiropractic Benefit Services Purchasing Group, Chandler, AZ – cease and desist from using misleading promotional materials.”]
The letter [written by whom?] also warned doctors of the economic impact of Triad’s presence in the state. “Triad’s pattern of doing business is clear. They donate a lot of money to the state association. They sell a group of naive doctors at the state convention [I thot selling people was illegal slavery?]… They explain that if they don’t jump on the bandwagon, they will be left out, and other doctors will reap all the rewards. [Sounds like the recruiting pitch for TR’s RCS scam, doesn’t it?] In reality, the doctors who sign up end up hurting financially. In other states, some doctors are still waiting to be paid for claims that have been withheld by Triad for 2 years or more.” [Again, where’s the proof of this?]
An endorsement by the Pennsylvania Chiropractic Association (PCA) led some doctors to probe into possible financial ties between the Triad group and the organization. They found, as noted in the letter, that Triad “donated a lot of money to the PCA. At the upcoming PCA convention in August, 50% of the seminars are sponsored by NCMIC or Triad.” [NCMIC donates a lot of money to a lot of groups, more than any other actually. So, TR, just how much money has your CBS donated? Okay, stop laughing because it’s nothing, ya folla?[
A flyer distributed by the PCA went so far as to say that one of the top reasons for attending the convention was to “attend any of the four programs sponsored by Dr. Lou Sportelli and NCMIC.” [Indeed, Dr. Lou is among the best speakers I’ve heard—informative, witty, and well-spoken.]
Prior to this, the former President of the Maine Chiropractic Association, Robert P. Lynch, Jr., DC, wrote to Triad officials stating: “It is a great concern to my colleagues and constituents, as well as myself, that if Triad enters the state of Maine, that we will suffer significantly financially as a result… This fee schedule as presented will only negatively impact NCMIC’s subscribers’ practices in the State of Maine.” Lynch was serving on the Board of Governors of the American Chiropractic Association when he wrote to Triad officials. [This has less to do with Dr. Lou or Triad than it is directed at all MCOs. According to Dr. Lynch, ‘We have great laws in the state and have to be reimbursed at the same level as other providers. This is why ACN and others cannot penetrate into the state. There is no reason for us to join a network that will save insurance companies money. The over utilization issue also does not apply because we average 9.7 visits per patient.’ If TR is trying to isolate Triad, then he missed the point by Dr. Lynch.]
Does the man who started, and continues to promote, this apparent scheme, deserve to tell the rest of us what is ethical when it comes to chiropractic practice? [“scheme”? Gimme a break—no one considers NCMIC a scheme except for the under-handed folks at CBS—TR’s main source of income. To say he has a conflict of interest on this subject is just another example of his unethical journalism. Logon to Journalistic Fraud , Yellow Journalism Continues , or Journalistic Crime ]
The WFC
Dr. Sportelli’s actions while he was president of the World Federation of Chiropractic (WFC) also disqualifies him from wielding the moral compass for chiropractic, as does the major role he played in the development of the Mercy guidelines. [Pray tell: why is only TR complaining about Lou? With over 80+ national members, no one else from legitimate national associations complains about Dr. Lou’s achievements. Indeed, only TR, a self-proclaimed dictator has criticized Dr. Lou for obvious reasons—his sham WCA is a joke compared to the WFC.]
The WFC has absolutely no official standing or authority [Is TR implying that the WCA has “official” standing or “authority”? Okay, stop laughing! The truth is the WFC is the voice of chiropractic worldwide.], yet it has attempted in recent years to rule the practice of chiropractic and chiropractic education throughout the world with an iron fist. [Setting minimal guidelines for chiro education and national associations is not ruling “with an iron fist.” But to TR, a loose canon, any standards that he doesn’t design himself is criticized, a typical reaction by a sociopath.]
The WFC’s “Tokyo Charter,” which it developed in 1997, while Dr. Sportelli was president set the goal of establishing “one minimum international standard in chiropractic education,” and proclaimed the WFC the sole arbiter of that standard. [FYI: the WFC is not an autonomous organization like the outlaw WCA; it is a democratic org with over 80 voting national members, unlike TR’s self-appointed dictatorship. For him to criticize the WFC is sheer madness.]
According to the Charter, educational programs could be conducted only with “prior consultation with and approval by the national association or other chiropractic organization recognized by the World Federation of Chiropractic as representing chiropractors in that country…” [Is there a problem with that? On the other hand, TR wants to profit by phony chiro “institutes” as we’ve seen in Germany where a WCA member alone teaches chiro techniques to laymen.]
In addition, only WFC member associations would be allowed to invite people to teach in their countries. [Exactly, this is to prevent rogue entrepreneurs like TR and Tedd Koren from exploiting practitioners with nonsense.] If a nation had two or more organizations, those which were not “ordained” by the WFC would be barred from providing educational programs. [Such as his sham WCA’s phony programs like I mentioned. Obviously, sociopaths hate any guidelines or regulations that they don’t create themselves; TR is certainly one who refuses to abide by any rules.]
In keeping with the agenda of the WFC’s leaders, the WFC did not affiliate with any subluxationbased organizations and, in fact, took action to prevent such organizations from becoming established or exercising any influence on their national policy. [TR is losing it—the ICA, a sub-based org, is a member of the WFC; in fact, Gerry Clum is the current prez. Secondly, when the WFC sponsored its Identity & Image conference, it invited the sham WCA, but TR and Kent refused to attend, then he writes this malarkey? Obviously TR will lie to make his point.]
Although the Charter is filled with explanations as to how chiropractic colleges should do things, it includes the notation, “In this Charter, the word ‘should’ is used with the meaning ‘must.'” [Again, sociopaths don’t want anyone telling them what to do, even when it’s for the best of all DCs.]
In truth, the WFC was founded, and is led by, the same people who developed and pushed the Mercy guidelines, men who have consistently voiced their opposition to subluxation-centered chiropractic [Wrong again: they are opposed to cultism and anti-educated mindsets.] In addition to Dr. Sportelli, Drs. Scott Haldeman, Reed Phillips, and John Triano have been associated with the WFC. [Thankfully the real statesmen in this profession see the value of the WFC and the Mercy guidelines. Strangely, TR throws out these names as if we should be wary of them when, in reality, these men are giants in mainstream chiropractic who are applauded.]
All were also associated with the Mercy guidelines. Not surprisingly, one of the goals of the WFC appears to be promoting Mercy and its successor, the Council on Chiropractic Guidelines and Practice Parameters (CCGPP) as the basis of practice and educational standards worldwide. [Yes, thankfully, as opposed to TR’s sham guidelines written by the WCA and its vendor-members.]
I needn’t remind anyone that Mercy has done more harm to chiropractic than all the practice gurus put together. [What a pile of bullsh*t] It has limited chiropractic in an attempt to “medicalize” the profession and has been used as the key tool by the insurance industry to cut claims and devalue chiropractic. [Sheer demagoguery!] Yet, despite widespread opposition to the document by the profession [Just where is this “widespread opposition” other than from TR?], Dr. Sportelli repeatedly tried to promote the guidelines.
Who gets to rule? [Why is only TR concerned about this?]
Unless you are a big fan of Mercy, CCGPP, Triad, NCMIC, and the WFC and share its rather distorted and limited view of chiropractic [What a crock of crapola; if it doesn’t jive with TR, then he condemns it and thinks everyone else does too.] I think you’ll agree that Dr. Sportelli is not in a position to be telling the profession what’s ethical or unethical. [Spoken like a true sociopath and demagogue: “I’m right, the world’s wrong.” Indeed, if the majority of DCs support TR and his sham WCA, why is his membership only 0.004% of the profession? Why doesn’t the WCA hold democratic elections and why is his tabloid a joke? Indeed, anyone who believes TR is as foolish as he is.]
And if you think I want the job, you’re wrong. [Stop lying, TR. You’re so green with jealousy it’s obvious to all, but I’m glad you don’t want the job, as if anyone would offer. Okay, stop laughing.] I’m just as passionate [obsessive-compulsive to the point of lunacy is more accurate.] about my vision of chiropractic as Dr. Sportelli is about his. I think the DCs who wear white lab coats with stethoscopes around their necks are the ones presenting the wrong image of chiropractic. [Just where are these guys, TR, or is this just another example of your demagoguery?] Doctors whose ads include a laundry list of symptoms like headaches, back aches, whiplash, shoulder pain (with the ubiquitous [?] lightning bolts coming out of the highlighted body part!) are doing a lot more damage than those who pass their business cards around town. Teaching DCs to do medical blood work or obstetrics is a far greater sign of “greed and avarice” than long term wellness programs. [This guy is simply nuts. I guess selling a patient solicitation program, RCS, under the guise of research for $14,000 is not “greed and avarice”? And certainly “wellness,” as he and Kent define it, is simply disease-mongering by trying to convince well patients they need treatment.]
I’d like to think that I would never go so far as to try to outlaw those activities [yet he condemns anyone who suggests them] and I stand by the “live and let live” philosophy upon which the World Chiropractic Alliance was founded. [Wrong: your philosophy is totalitarian insurgency, ridicule, unethical journalism, and blatant demagoguery.] But I don’t expect the profession to hand me the power to regulate chiropractic and mold it into my vision. [You’re absolutely right about that, which may explain why TR doesn’t believe in democracy in his own sham WCA or in the profession at large, such as the WFC.]
Nor can we, as a profession, hand over that power to anyone or any one group. Dr. Sportelli cannot sit in judgment on chiropractic and instruct us on removing the mote from our eye until he notices the beam in his own! [Is TR trying to be profound now? Ironically, he fails to use the entire Biblical quote and takes it out of context (as usual). In fact, this quote is seeking forgiveness, not casting allegations as TR has done:
Matthew 7:3-5, “And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.”
I suggest TR should first stop with his obvious hypocrisy before he cast stones at anyone else. The fact is TR is a sociopath who is seriously sick with an ambition for power and money. He has used his poisoned pen to cast aspersions on anyone who opposes his lunacy without the ability of those he attacks to respond. His tabloid is replete with examples of misrepresentation of the truth about individuals and w/o the offer to respond to his false allegations.
If TR is so adamant about his “mote,” I challenge him again to publicly debate these issues at ACC-RAC in front of the leading statesmen, politicians, academicians and researchers. Okay, stop laughing since TR, Kent, Riekeman and the rest of the evil vendors will never come forth from their spider holes as we saw at the British Chiro Assn. meeting when all of them declined to debate me, Philippe Druart, and David Chapman-Smith. These vendor-driven guys are spineless, to say the least, and outright hypocrites when it comes to “wellness” care.
TR’s chagrin about NCMIC and Dr. Sportelli has a hidden agenda inasmuch as his CBS insurance brokerage is TR’s biggest moneymaker, but small in comparison to NCMIC’s 50+% share of the market. His article tried to demonize Dr. Lou, but his arguments were hallow and only served to illustrate TR’s paranoid sociopathic mindset.
To illustrate TR’s own hypocrisy, enjoy this exchange about TR’s CBS insurance brokerage and how he tried to strong-arm the ICA into his pockets.
The International Chiropractors Association’s (ICA’s) malpractice insurance company, PHICO, through which approximately 1,000 doctors of chiropractic receive their malpractice insurance, was downgraded by A.M. Best to an E rating (“under regulatory supervision”) on August 16, 2001. Prior to that event, ICA began switching their policyholders from PHICO to another insurer (please see “Chiropractic Malpractice Insurance Co. (PHICO) Downgraded“).
On that same day, Stuart Hoffman,DC, president of ICA’s malpractice insurance buying group reportedly received the following e-mail from Dr. Terry Rondberg, the president and owner of the competing CBS malpractice program:
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From: Terry Rondberg [[email protected]] Stuart, It’s time for ICA to endorse the CBS malpractice insurance program. I will be happy to help with a positive PR spin on this mess if I receive an ICA endorsement for CBS in exchange. This is the third time ICA has lost its program. I warned you several times this was going to happen to PHICO. Do you have any idea how much this can damage the reputation of the ICA? How many times did you state how much more financially secure PHICO was compared to CBS? Now the 1,000 ICA insured who paid for occurrence policies have gambled on you and lost all of their money. If you want to discuss a plan to promote CBS as the “official” ICA program to save face, now would be a good time. I will only make this offer the next 24 hours, then the news will be everywhere and I will not be able to help ICA. NCMIC, NCC, OUM, AJ Gallagher and all the other malpractice sharks are swimming around your sinking ship. The time to be proactive is now! Terry |
The ICA chose not to comply with the request that they “promote CBS as the ‘official’ ICA program to save face.” Nor did the ICA endorse the CBS malpractice insurance program “in exchange” for “a positive PR spin.”
The statement that “the news will be everywhere” was followed a week later with a mass e-mailing of the Pennsylvania Insurance Department’s PHICO press release by Dr. Rondberg. The mass e-mail was apparently sent to every DC in the WCA’s e-mail newsletter database. Some have suggested that this might appear to be attempted coercion or even blackmail. Others might say that it is just aggressive business tactics. Which is it? You be the judge.
CBS/Reliance: the Bottom Line
by Stuart Hoffman,DC, president, ChiroSecure
My article on the ICA’s malpractice insurance program1 apparently struck a nerve. While it was intended to clarify months of misinformation on the part of Chiropractic Benefit Services (CBS), it provoked a delayed response covering three pages.
Amazingly enough, the owner of CBS admitted doing something to his policyholders that the ICA was quite concerned about. The concern comes from the fact that CBS’s previous insurer, Reliance, which had their ratings severely downgraded,2 was “delisted” by the New York Stock Exchange,3 and is expected to go bankrupt.4 Continuing to allow their insureds to be covered by Reliance puts CBS’ policyholders in a potentially severe and completely unnecessary position.
Yet despite the ICA’s expressed concern, CBS President Rondberg clearly stated:
“CBS is automatically transferring policies to our new carrier as they come up for renewal.”5
Why? What is the purpose of waiting almost a year to move some of their policyholders away from an insurer whose ability to cover their claims is questionable at best?
What does CBS get out of waiting another 5-6 months to transfer the rest of its policyholders? Is it a matter of money? Is it in CBS’ best financial interest to leave their policyholders hanging?
It is the ICA’s position that the only reason to offer malpractice insurance is to protect practicing doctors of chiropractic and their patients. Leaving policyholders insured with a company that has been contemplating bankruptcy since last August 4 falls egregiously short of that. And no matter what other comments CBS’ president wants to make, that’s the bottom line.
Dynamic Chiropractic
21541 Surveyor Circle
Huntington Beach, CA. 92646
Dear Don:
The August issue of The Chiropractic Journal, which is published by Dr. Terry Rondberg, contains a letter to the editor which attacks my integrity. The publication, which claims to be “Dedicated to Fairness in Communication,” on its masthead violated some cardinal rules of truth and propriety in its carrying of the so-called “letter,” for investigation points the fact that the critical letter was probably a malicious concoction by the publication or parties unknown.
Let me give you the basis of my accusation.
When I read the “letter” in The Chiropractic Journal which stated falsely that I was an owner of a competitive publication, Dynamic Chiropractic, and the perpetrator of some kind of imaginary plot to destroy Dr. Peter Fernandez’ operation, I decided to call “Robert Marsh, D.C.” of Los Angeles, the purported writer of the letter.
In an effort to reach the good doctor, I found that I could not find him in either the ACA or ICA directories. So I called the Los Angeles area phone company and checked with information operator, only to learn there is no Dr. Robert Marsh listed. Next, I attempted to locate the chiropractor by contacting the California Board of Examiners, but then I learned to my surprise (really no surprise at all) that there was no Dr. Robert Marsh licensed in the state of California. (See letter from the director of the California Board of Examiners).
Now, this looks very suspicious, doesn’t it?! A highly critical letter in The Chiropractic Journal defending Dr. Fernandez, making libelous charges against me — and the writer can’t be found! Highly unusual, isn’t it?!
Can it be that Robert Marsh, D.C. of Los Angeles doesn’t exist? Not a pretty picture for the publication, is it?
I submit that The Chiropractic Journal has a responsibility to not only PRINT THE TRUTH, but and obligation NOT TO MANUFACTURE STORIES, INVENT DOCTORS, PERPETRATE A PROPAGANDA CAMPAIGN TO ATTEMPT TO DESTROY THE CREDIBILITY OF INDIVIDUALS, and finally, BE RESPONSIBLE AND HONEST WITH ITS READERS.
- What’s In It For Me?
So, as long as any chiropracTOR subscribes to chirovangelism, he need not worry about being covered by CBS, but he cannot “try and diagnose disease.” I find it odd that on one hand, the Big Hypothetical claims to cure everything but rigor mortis, but if a DC actually diagnoses in any effort to develop a treatment plan or referral, he’s excluded from CBS coverage! Perhaps this explains why most WCA chiropracTORs won’t talk about disease or symptoms for fear of losing their CBS coverage, and why Rondberg promotes the “non-diagnostic, non-therapeutic” “wellness” brand of chiropracTIC, which illustrates how a vendor can mold a profession to suit his own business needs.