I’ve written much about current legislation that will affect the practice of TCM practitioners in Florida. HB583 is a bill currently being debated on in the Florida state house. If passed than the standing of any TCM practitioner, in Western medicine, is diminished. I recommend you read my blog on HB583 that I have posted.
State legislation is not only forum that can have an impact on the TCM profession. There are bills that are being introduced in Congress that will affect TCM, as well. H.R. 4803 is one such bill that can contribute to the growth of this field.
Medicare only covers TCM services if the patient is referred to the TCM practitioner by a Western clinician. Essentially, the only way an Acupuncturist can gain access to a patient’s Medicare benefits is only if they are supervised by an Allopathic doctor. This is a reason why you see many Acupuncturists practicing in a Western medical practice.
I, myself, have had many people that wanted to use my services through their Medicare but couldn’t because they are not allowed to visit us directly. Who suffers the most from this? The patient who can benefit from a “legitimate” TCM service.
Thus, the potential of H.R. 4803 to advancing the TCM profession, nationally, is enormous. The scope to the type of services that an Acupuncturist will be covered on is pain management. Treating low back pain, with TCM, seems to be the only ailment that is receiving full approval for coverage. Needless-to-say, this will be debated on plenty on before a final version of the bill will be voted on.
However, the point of this blog is to make you realize how a significant portion of the US population is missing services that could help them when conventional medicine is inadequate. Covering low back pain is a starting point but that certainly should not be considered the end all.
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