Are you a student of acupuncture or a licensed acupuncturist who is concerned about the direction of your profession? AcuCongress is a coalition designed to train members of the Acupuncture industry on techniques to shepherd federal legislation that will include Licensed Acupuncturists as covered providers in the Social Security Act (SSA.)
As of January 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced guidelines for covering acupuncture SERVICES for chronic low back pain (Clbp.) Within these guidelines are stifling caveats for THE EXPERTS IN THE FIELD: you may perform the services if you meet the education and licensing requirements in your state; however, L.Acs must have "appropriate supervision" (the definition of which is undetermined and/or unavailable,) and they cannot bill Medicare directly. Supervision of acupuncture services by a physician is inconsistent with our state licensing statutes. Supervision by physician's assistants and nurse practitioners have never been a part of our licensing throughout history. Furthermore, most of these providers who are defined and covered by the SSA do not have the expertise to supervise acupuncture services. This creates a set of unnecessary barriers to patients receiving acupuncture services for chronic pain in a demographic that desperately needs expanded treatment options for chronic pain that are safe, effective and do not leave room for complicated known effects of decreasing functionality and increasing possibilities for addiction. THIS MUST CHANGE!
Members of the Licensed Acupuncture community have their best opportunity yet to pass legislation that will remove these barriers to treatment services while expanding access to our medicine. Congresswoman Judy Chu's bill HR 4803, "Acupuncture for Seniors Act 2021", will usher in the changes that will remove these barriers, cover Licensed Acupuncturists as providers under the SSA, and expand opportunities within this system that include both participation in federal student loan forgiveness programs and the possibilities for residency programs in mainstream medical environments throughout the country.
AcuCongress is working with state Acupuncture associations to train their members and prepare them for the AcuCongress Virtual Federal Fly-In on December 8, 2021. We have issued a Call to Action to the industry to help shepherd HR 4803 and ALL ARE WELCOME to take part in the training. IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE MEMBERS OF THE ACUPUNCTURE INDUSTRY TO HELP GET THIS BILL PASSED. We are looking for State and District Captains in the month of September and will begin training all who want to take part in this important event in October. If you are interested, please join the conversation in BaseCamp.
AcuCongress has partnered with the Atlantic Symposium to provide IN-PERSON training, along with the virtual training that will happen in BaseCamp. We encourage all who want to take part to take advantage of this, as you will be able to network with your state colleagues and build an active constituent action team together. For those who cannot attend the in-person training, there is still ample opportunity to take part. State association members receive a $20 discount to the AcuCongress Virtual Federal Fly-In and virtual training is included. Since patient testimonials are so important in this effort, we offer additional discounts to those who bring their patients to the fly-in.
We are looking for state and district leaders* who have a passion for policy. If we do not stand up and take part in how acupuncture services are delivered and covered, this will be decided for us. Come join the effort! Get trained and take part in the policy outreach for the shepherding of HR 4803 "Acupuncture for Seniors Act 2021"!
Note *: In order to serve as a state or district captain, state association membership is required.
