OVER HIS SIX-DECADE CAREER, Dr. Louis Sportelli’s advocacy and guidance helped forge the chiropractic profession’s path in health care, and he continues to lead the way.
Today, he champions chiropractic as president of the NCMIC Foundation, a 501(C)3 nonprofit organization, after serving on the NCMIC Group Inc. board for 25 years, with 20 of those as president of the insurance company. The NCMIC Foundation provides grant funding to qualifying chiropractic research and educational projects that support and advance chiropractic and alternative approaches to health care.
As a prolific author, he is best known for Introduction to Chiropractic, now in its 13th edition. His 2023 collaboration with George McAndrews and Harold Wolinsky gifted readers with the captivating book, Contain and Eliminate'. How the AMA Tried to Destroy Chiropractic, a thrilling true story everyone working in the field of chiropractic should read.
Dr. Sportelli chose early in his car eer to lead by example. The distinguished Palmer College graduate established his role as a leader by actively working with professional organizations throughout his career, including the Pennsylvania Chiropractic Society, Blue Mountain Health Systems Hospital Network, Board of the American Chiropractic Association (ACA), and the World Federation of Chiropractic (WFC).
In this interview with The American Chiropractor (TAC) and Dr. Louis Sportelli (LS), we go over the impact of Contain and Eliminate, the current state of healthcare policies and advocacy, and probably, his favorite topic, the future of chiropractic.
LS: I’m delighted to see changes where we’re talking about making America healthy again. Chemicals are being removed from products. There are only two countries in the world that allow direct-to-consumer advertising of drugs, and the over utilization due to DTC advertising has increased. The rest of the world has seen its share of chemical and environmental destruction take toll on health.
Chiropractic has spearheaded this perspective for 50 to 60 years, shouting from the treetops about food, nutrition, and health. Now, it’s mainstream, though we don’t get much credit. Our philosophy has always emphasized this, but we did it one-on-one. Now, it’s influencing large masses collectively. It’s amazing how pervasive toxic chemicals became common ingredients in food, water, fertilizers and air pollutants have infiltrated every aspect of our lives.
LS: That book was a labor of love to recognize George McAndrews and preserve the history of the Wilk antitrust lawsuit against the AMA. Without it, much would have been forgotten.
I started practicing in 1963, before the internet or copy machines, so I preserved paper records — some on old carbon paper that’s now faded. George was involved in every word and chapter, ensuring authenticity. He lived to see it published before his passing two years ago on Good Friday.
The fellowship we shared, along with his role in the lawsuit, made it personal. Fortunately, because everything was paper-based back then, a lot of history was saved that would have been lost digitally.
LS: The Wilk suit broke the dam of barriers. Once complete, it reduced obstacles to entry, changing the profession’s trajectory. It exposed the AMA’s conspiracy to contain and eliminate a legitimate profession, leading to corrections by other organizations attempting to discriminate against chiropractic.
Clinics and hospitals realized they’d been duped. For instance, as of July 1 this year, the first accredited chiropractic hospital fellowship started at St. Luke’s Hospital in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. One DC was selected, treated on a par with any other specialty. This program will allow chiropractors to apply to hospitals nationwide within their statutory parameters.
"We’ll need statutory changes nationwide to expand the profession, just as we did for licensure."
Coupled with the University of Pittsburgh’s new program starting in September with 40 students, it’s a game changer. St. Luke’s is a network of 16 hospitals and 50 outpatient facilities; they underpromise and overdeliver, recognizing the need for chiropractic services.
LS: I had little direct involvement; Dr. Michael Schneider led that effort marvelously. The program will reduce graduation time to three years, just like the medical program. Instead of an on-campus clinic, students go to federally qualified health plans for collaborative, integrated training, seeing diverse patients they wouldn’t encounter otherwise.
This raises the bar. Our colleges, already challenged, must adapt, especially with student loan changes. Statutes created out of fear defined the profession very narrowly, with specific instruction hours and limited flexibility to innovate.
We’ll need statutory changes nationwide to expand the profession, just as we did for licensure. It’s unbelievable this isn’t just theory; it’s starting now and will challenge how chiropractors are educated.
LS: It affects every small college, but large universities like Harvard have endowments in the billions. Chiropractic schools are tuition-dependent and vulnerable. Student loans enabled exploitation as well as irresponsible spending. Students bought cars or vacations with loans, not just education, while tuitions escalated and the debt service of students increased.
Now, cutting inappropriate loans forces responses. Small colleges may struggle; outside investment is unlikely. This echoes Contain and Eliminate, a repeating plan.
However, out of adversity comes opportunity. Colleges will collectively redesign education, reducing unnecessary time to compete with other careers, like physical therapy or physician assistants. The inevitability was there; now we’re seeing reactions, and I am confident that the profession will again meet the challenge.
LS: The foundation funds research projects and supports DCs pursuing PhDs. We’ve helped about 50 to 52 so far. We have DC’s at Harvard, Yale, Duke, Dartmouth, University of Minnesota, entering PhD programs and public health and epidemiology programs.
Twenty years ago, that seemed impossible; chiropractic research wasn’t even published. The Wilk suit broke those barriers. We fund small pilot projects needed for NIH grants.
Everything we do is exciting, transforming chiropractic, by researching neuroplasticity and understanding the broader effects of the adjustment, beyond current concepts. The future is indeed exciting to witness.
We’ve funded DCs graduating from top institutions, breaking barriers we never thought possible.
LS: We’ve battled Medicare for 50 years because the initial bill limited us to one service — correcting subluxation — haunting us ever since. It’s the barometer for third-party reimbursement; if we can’t bill for E&M services, integration fails economically.
Imagine treating a 64-year-old fully under statute, but the next day at 65, you’re restricted — no X-rays, diagnostics, or billing beyond subluxation. With 10,000 turning 65 daily, the most needy for musculoskeletal care are denied chiropractic.
There’s a bill in Congress with decent sponsors; this is the best chance yet. But field practitioners’ response is lackluster — call your legislators! It would open horizons like the Wilk suit did. Check the ACA or ACC websites for the bill number to take action.
LS: Absolutely — it’s the same playbook. They sent letters to Congress denouncing it, still denigrating chiropractic in 2025. While the lawsuit stopped illegal acts, petitioning legislatures is legal. But it’s consistent with resisting conservative care, forcing patients toward surgeries and medications.
Even within chiropractic, some oppose expanding scopes due to discomfort with others’ practices. That’s frustrating. Students accrue massive debt but are limited to low-reimbursing adjustments. Passing this opens interdisciplinary clinics and restores dignity to seniors, enabling ambulation and self-care.
I toured nursing homes in the 80s; residents feared loss of dignity more than death — unable to comb hair or dress. Chiropractic provides incremental improvements that restore humanity and dignity to this ever-growing population.
LS: Those years were devastating; lockdowns destroyed the world. You couldn’t go to church or gyms but could go to Walmart or liquor stores. Kids wore masks, not recognizing teachers, losing facial expressions crucial for communication.
We’re suffering from educational oppression and depression; it’ll take a decade to realize full ramifications. It attacked children’s ability to learn, as the student loan crisis attacked student’s ability to obtain student loans. Lost Connections by Johann Hari highlights depressions roots.
Chiropractic’s preventive focus is less sexy than dramatic surgeries, but it saves lives by reducing pain, enabling function, and addressing underlying factors collaboratively. We’ve shouted about health for years; now health and lifestyle ideas are thankfully becoming mainstream.
LS: The lawsuit exposed an economic boycott to eliminate a licensed chiropractic profession. They dragged out ads — the worst chiropractic ads they could find — to claim public safety protection, but the second trial focused on the AMA conspiracy. The judge ordered findings published in JAMA, embarrassing many MDs who then opened facilities to us, changing the climate.
They called us uneducated quacks while blocking PhDs from teaching at our colleges — a self-fulfilling prophecy. The trial discovery process exposed this duplicitous activity.
Today, Big Pharma allocates millions to oppose RFK’s MAHA Movement, see power shifted from medicine to pharma — it’s the old mantra “follow the money.” Medicine’s awe comes from technology like robotic heart transplants, but we’re no closer in reality to curing colds, and side effects are downplayed while minimal benefits are exploited. It is important to distinguish political medicine largely economic and political organizations from the clinical care delivered by conscientious physicians who want the best for their patients.
LS: Statutes, bom of fear, defined us into oblivion with rigid hours, hindering flexibility. We’ll revisit them for expansion. Early chiropractors entered the profession as a calling from personal experience; now, it’s a career choice, weighed against time and ROE
Medicine shifted as well, with a large percentage of MD’s employed by Hospitals and Health centers. Chiropractic survived because of our personal via patient connection; patients were being heard, touched, understood. Research shows this improves outcomes.
We’re 130 years old, enduring destruction attempts, because of that human aspect AI can’t replicate. The profession was once mobilized for licensure. Now, digital communication distances us, but legislative wins require group action.
LS: A study in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health links spinal pain to chronic conditions like cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, and obesity. As an old practitioner since 1962, on those conditions where co-morbidity existed and changes were observed there was very little to no research to understand the correlation, to explain the positive changes. Thankfully that is changing
"Years ago, everyone entered as a calling because personal experience with chiropractic drove them"
Now, researchers examine spinal components, neuroplasticity, and adjustments’ broader effects. This early work will transform chiropractic’s concept. We fund DC-PhDs and pilots for bigger grants — phenomenal researchers are paving tomorrow’s path. It’s mind-boggling; I pinch myself seeing this evolution.
LS: Advocate fiercely. Support the Medicare bill; it’s close to passing and vital for access and integration. Research is our weapon now, replacing litigation and legislation.
I’ve seen total transformation from impossible Harvard PhDs to hospital fellowships. Pinch yourself at the progress. Chiropractors unconsciously excel at the human aspect of care, restoring dignity to seniors, enabling self-care. That’s why we’ve survived. The future is mind-boggling; embrace adaptation from adversity.
LS: Everything seemed healthier 60 years ago, until so-called safe chemicals entered food, water, cosmetics. It’s tragic with hormones added now to the steaks we eat, the chicken we eat, and the chemicalization of our world. Is it any wonder our children are sicker, obesity is on the rise, and metabolic disorders are out of control? The focus on health, rather than a “pill for every ill,” will eventually move the needle.
I have spoken to many chiropractors over the years, many of who have led a very healthy lifestyle, as well as a different mindset relative to health and disease. This ties to today’s focus on removing chemicals from our food and water, as well as a focus on nutrition and exercise, concepts chiropractic has long advocated.
LS: Years ago, everyone entered as a calling because personal experience with chiropractic drove them. Now, it’s smaller; students weigh career choices like medicine, chiropractic, nursing, optometry, physician’s assistants, physical therapy, or naturopaths against cost and return on investment.
That’s okay, but a different thought process is in play, and chiropractic will have to compete with various professional choices.
We must adapt education to attract them. Passion remains, but collective organization is key for advocacy, unlike the mobilized days when we filled buses for licensure. I do not believe there is that collective energy; hopefully I am wrong, but it will take a reigniting of passion.
LS: Big Pharma’s playbook minors the AMA’s — reports suggest that Big Pharma is allocating funds to silence threats like RFK and the entire MAHA movement. But technological advances, like robotic surgeries, get headlines, while everyday ailments persist with little fanfare.
Chiropractic emphasizes prevention, nutrition, exercise, lifestyle, epigenetics, and non-invasive care. Essentially a healthier way of living. We’ve led this. Now, as it goes mainstream, we must collectively amplify our voice for true health reform. I am confident that the chiropractic message, once fringe, will become mainstream. Visit www.ncmicfoundation.org to fund chiropractic research an education.
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