Dear Friends,
Over the last 10 years acupuncture practitioners as group have been endeavoring to get the US government to recognize “Acupuncture Physician/Acupuncturist” as a legitimate healthcare profession. In 2018 the U.S. Department of Labor and Statistics granted us an official profession code. This has allowed Medicare and other state and federal governmental health care plans to move forward with considering acupuncture as a reimbursable service. Finally!
Here’s the crucial part.
Last month Medicare announced a period of public comment regarding whether or not acupuncture is effective at treating lower back pain. They are asking individuals to submit their experience regarding how acupuncture has helped them with their back pain so that they may assess its effectiveness and decide whether or not to pay for acupuncture treatments in the future. This represents a potentially monumental shift in public health care policy. Medicare is only accepting public comment thru February 14th, so you must act NOW to make your voice heard.
Some suggestions for leaving comments:
- You can leave a comment by telling your story of how acupuncture treatment by a licensed acupuncturist has helped relieve your pain.
- You can leave a comment stating that the total cost of acupuncture by a licensed acupuncturist is much less than current conventional treatment which is covered by you insurance.
- You can simply say that acupuncture treatment helped you and you support Medicare coverage.
Here’s what I wrote:
“In 2008, I ruptured a disk in my lower back that left me in extreme pain, unable to walk, unable to sit, and barely able to find a comfortable lying position long enough to catch a little bit of sleep. After a brief course of narcotic pain medication that made me extremely sick, my pain management issues were pretty limited as I waited for weeks to be approved for surgery. Acupuncture was the only thing that gave me relief from the intense burning pain in my back, buttock and going down my leg from my pinched sciatic nerve. At times the treatments were quite remarkable, with one needle or the other acting almost like a switch turning off the pain from my damaged nerve.”
