The Creation of a Cartel in Chiropractic Education, Licensing, Testing & Regulation

What has become widely known as the Chiropractic Cartel was first described by Dr. Lawrence J. DeNardis - a Committee Member of the United States Department of Education's Office of Postsecondary Education and the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI). He made the following comments during the Hearing for consideration of Renewal of Recognition of the Council on Chiropractic Education in 2006:

"Madam Chair, we've heard charges and countercharges from I trust a wide, fairly wide spectrum of the chiropractic profession. At least that's the way it seems to me. Battles over turf, battles over philosophy, maybe battles over personal ambition, but divisions of every kind. And some of this, maybe most of it, is a consequence of, at least as I see it, a monopoly control of a profession which has led to the establishment of a virtual cartel, not unusual. There are several other professions that we deal with that have a virtual cartel control of the profession. We can't change that, but we can consider measures that will try to send a message to the prevailing control group that they should try to be more inclusive rather than less inclusive and I suggest that we try to figure out what is within our range of alternatives to do that. Because I believe if we simply hear it, discuss it, anguish over it, and then give them five years of recognition, that we haven't been the impetus for any corrective action for the profession and I worry about the profession."

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Separately, in 2011 Harrison wrote an article in the American Journal of Clinical Chiropractic on the Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Board's (FCLB) Model Practice Act where he discussed the Chiro Cartel and even provided a graphic depicting the flow of student loan and other money through it.

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So how did we end up in this mess?

Here is a brief breakdown of events:

• In May 1974 the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) was recognized by the United States Department of Education to accredit Doctor of Chiropractic programs in the United States.
• In 1974 the Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards (FCLB) was established and quickly thereafter supported the CCE and its claim on the government petition.
• Following the CCE's recognition by the Department of Education, the Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards (FCLB) issued a Resolution that its state board members revise statutes and administrative codes to require that future applicants for licensure show evidence of having graduated only from a college recognized by the CCE.
• The goal of the FCLB and CCE has been accomplished with the vast majority of the chiropractic regulatory boards having included "CCE Only" language in their statutes and administrative codes.
• The National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE) was formed in 1963 and administered its first exams in 1965.
• The NBCE and the FCLB embarked on a similar strategy to establish the NBCE as the sole testing organization within chiropractic and today pretty much all 50 states and the District of Columbia require passing of NBCE exams for licensure.
• These actions by the CCE, FCLB, NBCE and related organizations along with the response by the states to enact such statutes and administrative codes created a single, monopolistic locus of control over the educational, regulatory and licensing functions of the entire chiropractic profession.
• Federally backed student loan money as well as state resources and funding funnel through these and related organizations in support of their efforts.
• These combined entities and related organizations have been acknowledged by the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI) of the U.S. Department of Education as operating as a "virtual cartel" and enjoying a monopoly within chiropractic.
• This virtual cartel has engaged in the active marginalization of certain factions within the chiropractic profession that seek to educate, license and practice within a conservative model of chiropractic.
• In 2014 the United States Supreme Court addressed the role and consequences of Active Market Players serving on state regulatory boards where issues of restraint of trade might arise.

It is this monopoly that has led to the widespread marginalization of the factions within the chiropractic profession that seek to educate, license and practice within a conservative model of chiropractic. In many countries and some states it is becoming nearly impossible to practice conservative chiropractic.

In response, several chiropractic organizations and non-profit foundations have signed on to a series of Resolutions calling for a free and competitive marketplace in chiropractic education, licensing and practice and an end to the monopoly control of the entire profession by a cartel.

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CLICK HERE to review the Resolutions