Governor Gavin Newsom has retracted the proposed budget cuts to the Medi-Cal acupuncture program for low-income Californians for the 2024-2025 budget year. This decision marks a significant victory for health care providers and advocates who have long championed acupuncture as a vital component of comprehensive medical care.
Bastyr, OCOM Receive Approval for Doctoral Programs
As we go to press, Acupuncture Today has learned that Bastyr University in Kenmore, Washington, and the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine in Portland, are the first two colleges in the United States to receive approval to begin a clinical doctoral program in acupuncture and Oriental medicine. Both schools were notified in May that their doctoral programs had been approved by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.
"We are delighted to have been approved as one of the first two colleges in the U.S. to begin a clinical doctoral program in acupuncture and Oriental medicine," remarked Dr. Elizabeth Goldblatt, OCOM's president in a press release. Dr. Goldblatt added: "Our goal is to help strengthen the field of acupuncture and Oriental medicine in the U.S. by training educators, clinical researchers, clinic supervisors, scholars, and specialists." Interestingly enough, Dr. Goldblatt was part of a small group of educators who earlier this year voiced their opposition to Assembly Bill 1943, a proposed law that would have raised the amount of education and training hours for acupuncture students in California.
More details on this story will appear in an upcoming issue of Acupuncture Today.