Preserving and Protecting the Rights of Acupuncturist Petition.

Dear Senator,

We the undersigned have noticed that Motorola, Pacific Telesis, US Bank, GEHA, and other self-funded plans are currently offering acupuncture as a health benefit, but they are excluding licensed acupuncturist from getting reimbursed for treatment rendered.  These plans specifically state for reimbursement purposes acupuncture needs to be performed by a licensed M.D., D.O, or chiropractor!!!

We did some research on these self-funded plans and they do not fall under state mandates and are governed under Federal Law(ERISA), which does not have any anti-discrimination laws in place, such as the SB 2179 in California, which makes it illegal for health care insurance plans in California to expressly cover acupuncture when performed by an M.D, but not when performed by licensed acupuncturists.

We called the Dept of Labor at 202-219-8776 who oversee these plans and they mentioned that there are no current laws in place or bills in front of Congress to prevent this injustice to our profession and at the same time protect the rights and welfare of patients who are seeking a qualified healthcare practitioner for acupuncture services.

Here is the rub.  According to the National Center for Policy Analysis, there are over 140 million plus employees under self-funded plans and expect to grow exponentially.  The reason why these self-funded plans are growing nationally is to minimize the cost of rising health care, prevent state access to these self-funded plans for taxation purposes, and prevent states from exercising control with mandates set in place like the SB2179 in California to protect our profession.

There are over 50,000 licensed acupuncturists in the entire United States who are faced with the same injustice and would greatly appreciate your support and commitment to presenting this inequality to your peers in Congress and promptly pass a bill similar to Senate Bill 2179 in California on a federal level, which will prevent self-funded insurance plans from exluding licensed acupuncturists from getting reimbursed for services rendered when the plan offers acupuncture as a health benefit. 

Thank you for your time and consideration.