ASA and NCCAOM Advocacy Team

The American Society of Acupuncturists (ASA) and National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM) Advocacy Team works tirelessly to advance the acupuncture / TCM profession, particularly by advocating for legislation that better positions the profession within health care; and in so doing, expands opportunities for patients to receive acupuncture and acupuncture practitioners to be able to provide it.

Previous Articles

ASA, NCCAOM Endorse Acupuncture for Our Seniors Act of 2023
July 2023 (Vol. 24, Issue 07)
Strategic Advocacy: Promoting H.R. 4803 This Year (and Next)
May 2023 (Vol. 24, Issue 05)
Supporting H.R. 4803: It's Easy!
July 2022 (Vol. 23, Issue 07)
Why – and How – to Campaign for the Acupuncture Profession This Election Season
June 2022 (Vol. 23, Issue 06)
Trending
Acupuncture & Acupressure
It’s Time to Stop Prescribing Points
It's Time to Stop Prescribing Points

A student stands over a patient, needle poised. They have a “perfect” prescription: a textbook combination of points harvested from a lecture slide on chronic lower back pain. But as the needle meets the skin, the student hesitates - the symptom of a quiet habit that has taken hold of our profession. We routinely say we “prescribe” points. It sounds efficient. It echoes the authority of biomedical culture and fits neatly into the insurance field. But vocabulary is never neutral; repeated long enough, it dictates behavior.

Bruce W. Park, DACM
Acupuncture & Acupressure
Open the Orifices: Point Combinations for Allergy Presentations
Open the Orifices: Point Combinations for Allergy Presentations

Acupuncture can be highly effective in cases of nasal congestion so common in allergy presentations; so much so that I often treat such issues using acupuncture protocols alone. In cases of seasonal allergies with highly predictable causes such as obvious elevations of environmental allergens, I use a skeleton acupuncture prescription that can easily be fleshed out to target potential underlying patterns and effectively customized to the patient.

Craig Williams, LAc, AHG
News / Profession
Profession at a Crossroads: What Must Change
Profession at a Crossroads: What Must Change

The field of acupuncture in the U.S. continues to grow in visibility, patient demand and clinical effectiveness. Yet behind the curtain, many acupuncturists are quietly struggling to keep their doors open. While the profession is rooted in centuries of healing tradition, modern economic pressures – particularly those driven by insurance limitations, low reimbursement rates and job-market saturation – are making it increasingly difficult for licensed acupuncturists to thrive.

Shabnam Pourhassani, LAc, QME, DACM