Editor's note: On December 28, 2004, Acupuncture Today received the following e-mail from the California State Oriental Medical Association (CSOMA). The e-mail describes a "backgrounder document" sent to Acupuncture and Integrated Medicine Specialists (AIMS) in regards to the possible dissolution of the California Acupuncture Board. All California licensed acupunctursts are encouraged to read the following message and take appropriate action.
California Acupuncture Under Attack!
Patient access and primary care threatened. AIMS is fighting back!
Today (December 28, 2004), AIMS received an important backgrounder document from the Joint Committee on Boards, Commissions and Consumer Protection (formerly known as the "Sunset Review Committee"). The Committee is charged with oversight of the California Acupuncture Board which --unless legislative action is taken -- is scheduled to become inoperative on July 1, 2005 and to be dissolved on January 1, 2006. The Acupuncture Board's legal mandate is to regulate the practice of acupuncture and Oriental medicine in the State of California.
AIMS is recommending that everyone in the profession read this document and join us at the hearing in Sacramento on January 4, 2005. This is important! Patients who share our concerns about their freedom and their rights to receive acupuncture and oriental medical treatment without a referral are encouraged to join us. We are working to formulate a response to this background document. We will submit our response as testimony at the January 4 hearing. We are asking our friends and allies in the capitol to help us fight this discrimination and acupuncture access and support patient freedom of choice.
The full Joint Committee backgrounder document can be downloaded from the AIMS Web site:
 Joint Committee Backgrounder (331KB, requires Adobe Reader)  |  |
We are asking practitioners and patients to join us at the Joint Committee hearing to demonstrate that neither the profession nor our patients will stand by as our medicine is attacked. We are not looking to have large numbers of practitioners testify; this could be counterproductive. We do need a large showing at the hearing to demonstrate our resolve. AIMS has sent this background info to other California associations and asked that they and their members join us.
What: Hearing of the Joint Committee on Boards, Commissions and Consumer Protection.
When: Tuesday, January 4, 2005, 9 am.
Where: California State Capitol Building, Room 4203, 10th & L Streets, Sacramento.
Please let us know if you'll be able to attend the hearing by clicking the button in the upper right of this message, by sending an e-mail to advocacy@aimsaction.org, or by phoning AIMS at the number shown in the foot of this message. Forward this message freely to colleagues, friends, and family!
Sincerely,
Bill Mosca
Executive Director, AIMS
Let us know you'll attend the hearing by sending an e-mail to advocacy@aimsaction.org.
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.
There’s no doubt that many of your patients visit your practice because they are in pain. And there’s certainly no doubt that curcumin from turmeric (Curcuma longa) can be incredibly effective in stopping that pain, whether due to chronic conditions like arthritis or acute pain from intensive workouts. But your patients may also benefit from curcumin for other reasons.
| Digital Exclusive
Fair and appropriate wages in health care are typically based on economic evaluations. A simple literature review illuminates that acupuncture is missing economic evaluations; which implies you are either underpaid or overpaid. The complexity of services provided by most American acupuncturists, which they are trained and certified to provide, must be reimbursed fairly.
