Or is it?
The supplementary coverage for low-income residents of British Columbia (where everyone is covered for basic health care by government health insurance) adds acupuncture to the type of alternative medicine that participants can be reimbursed for:
"MSP reimburses premium assistance recipients $23 for each supplementary benefit - for example either physiotherapy, naturopathy or acupuncture - for a combined maximum of 10 visits per year." Read the complete article from the Victoria Times-Colonist
On the one hand, it's great to see the BC government recognizing the benefits of acupuncture - and the importance of helping people access low-tech preventative care like it and other 'alternative' medicine. (Apparently the BC Health Minister used acupuncture to treat his injuries from running - always good to have a patient in government: apparently Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Schriver both get acupuncture, which has been good for helping kibosh legislation in California that would be damaging to the profession). On the other hand, 10 treatments total for all three of these modalities, chiropractic, acupuncture and naturopathy, is so very little. I think there is still resistance to seeing the way that our medicine works - not in dramatic bursts like surgery, a cortisone shot, or a course of antibiotics.. It's more like eating well or regular exercise - sustained change is a result of consistent visits. Not that people don't have amazing results from a single treatment - I've seen it myself. But for most people, especially if you have chronic or longstanding problems, acupuncture needs to be a regular thing, not a sporadic one.
All this brings me to the Community Acupuncture model, which attempts to close the gap between how often people need to receive acupuncture for the maximum health benefits, and how much most people (even not technically 'low-income') people can afford. I am taking a roadtrip in a few weeks to Northern California and I will be visiting a few Community Acupuncture clinics to see how this style of treatment works - I'll report back on my findings, but I am optimistic about a model that sees more people getting more treatments, more often!
L'khaim, to your health.
Kirsten
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