The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate have passed the final version of the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Department Authorization Act, which includes a plan to restore chiropractic services at six U.S. military bases where services have been arbitrarily discontinued. The six clinics that will be reopened include those seeing 400 or more patients per month.
The final provision also calls on the Defense Health Agency (DHA) to develop a plan to reopen closed clinics and to explore the feasibility of putting doctors of chiropractic stationed at military facilities in the federal General Schedule (GS) system. Further, the amendment directs DHA to report back to the House and Senate on its progress by March 31, 2026.
The move to restore chiropractic services is consistent with the DHA’s ongoing concern over the use of opioids by active-duty members of the military and calls to make non-addictive alternatives for pain management more readily available to military personnel. The final language was first adopted in September 2025 as an amendment by Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) to the House version of the bill. It reflects upon the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act (Public Law 106-398), which in 2001 established the original chiropractic benefit in the Department of Defense health care system.
“We thank Rep. Steube for his foresight to tackle this issue, and we also acknowledge House and Senate negotiators who kept the bulk of his amendment in the final package,” said John Falardeau, American Chiropractic Association (ACA) senior vice president of public policy and advocacy.
The Steube amendment was drafted in response to chiropractic clinic closures over the past year caused by contracts with participating chiropractors being allowed to lapse, even though surveys indicate chiropractic services are highly valued at U.S. military facilities. Reports show that these clinics provide proven, cost-effective care to hundreds of patients monthly, offering a range of non-drug services to address painful musculoskeletal conditions commonly experienced by members of the military, enabling them to return to service. The results of a four-year clinical trial conducted at several military sites—the largest chiropractic clinical trial on record—provided further evidence that chiropractic care, when added to usual medical care, resulted in moderate short-term improvements in low back pain intensity in active-duty personnel.
The Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Department Authorization Act now heads to the president’s desk for his signature. The ACA said it will continue to work with Congress to ensure all military clinics that were recently closed reopen and to expand access at additional bases across the country and overseas.
For more information, visit www.acatoday.org.
