National Foundation For Women Legislators Endorsement

see the official site at:
http://www.aaaomonline.info/Inclusion_of_Acupuncturists_Access_to_Care_Resolution_passed_Sept_2009.pdf

National Policy Committee on Healthcare and Empowerment
Resolution in Support of Ensuring that any Congressional Effort to Expand Healthcare
Access through Medicare and Other Government Funded Programs Include Professional
Acupuncturists and Doctors of Oriental Medicine
(Ratified September 2009)
WHEREAS, the United States faces a $36 trillion deficit in the coming decades in part due to
unfunded healthcare liabilities related to the Medicare and Medicaid programs; and
WHEREAS, the United States spends 17 % of its Gross Domestic Product on health care versus
an average of only 9% for the 30 other members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation
and Development and 4.5% for China; and
WHEREAS, China has 362,600 Doctors of Traditional Chinese Medicine working in concert
with 836,360 Western trained M.D.s; and
WHEREAS, there are 5,500 designated Health Profession Shortage Areas (HPSA) in the US,
and 6941 more primary care providers are needed to reduce HPSA’s; and
WHEREAS, there are 6,525 Medically Underserved Areas (MUA’s) at the county and local
levels nationwide (as determined by the number of primary care providers in an area and the
distance to a primary care provider); and
WHEREAS, there are 58 nationally accredited colleges of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine
in the U.S. with approximately 8,100 students in attendance; and
WHEREAS, there are over 26,000 duly qualified practitioners of acupuncture and Oriental
medicine licensed in 44 states who may serve as primary care professionals; and
WHEREAS, acupuncture has been determined to be a drug-free, safe, and effective form of
primary care by the World Health Organization and has been approved by the 1997 National
Institutes of Health Consensus study; and
WHEREAS, based upon studies that showed acupuncture to be among the most cost-effective
modalities for the treatment of low back pain, the countries of Great Britain and Germany cover
acupuncture in their national health systems; and
WHEREAS, a 2003 survey found that nearly 1 in 10 Americans over age 18 have tried
acupuncture with 82 % of those surveyed satisfied with their treatment and 65% of physicians
surveyed in 2005 found acupuncture to be an effective complementary therapy; and
WHEREAS, a National Health Survey conducted by the National Institutes of Health and the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in 2009 that while visits to all
complementary and alternative medicine providers (CAM) appears to have decreased in the past decade, visits to acupuncturists tripled; and
WHEREAS, a 2005 survey found that employer provided insurance increasingly provides
coverage for acupuncture. (52% of POS plans, 47 percent of PPO plans, 44% of conventional
plans and 41% of HMOs); and
WHEREAS, the availability of acupuncture provides a valuable option for millions of
Americans and its inclusion in Medicare and other insurance programs will increase its
availability to seniors and others who could not otherwise access this safe and effective
treatment;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, by NFWL’s National Policy Committee on
Healthcare & Empowerment, that Congress should ensure that licensed acupuncture practitioners
are eligible to be included as providers in government insurance programs and health delivery
programs; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, by NFWL’s National Policy Committee on Healthcare &
Empowerment, that all 50 states’ governments, territories, and tribal communities are urged to
license the practice of acupuncture and Oriental herbal medicine or improve their licensure
guidelines to encourage a broader scope of practice.

THE POWER TO MAKE THE DIFFERENCE FOR YOU
WWW.WOMENLEGISLATORS.ORG
ROBIN READ, PRESIDENT & CEO
NFWL@WOMENLEGISLATORS.ORG
910 16TH STREET, NW, SUITE 100 WASHINGTON, DC 20006
202-293-3040 FAX 202-293-5430