Health Fair Report

I was the only acupuncturist invited to the health fair organized by the UPS on March 20. There were about 8-10 booths including yoga, the American Heart Association, Subway, etc. It was held inside the UPS facility where conveyor belts were running. I had to go through a security check before I was escorted to the fair’s location, an area outside their administrative offices, one floor above the conveyor belts. The UPS employees were very nice and warmly welcomed me.

Roughly 100 employees attended the fair. A majority of them stopped by my booth and asked me a lot of questions regarding shoulder pain, tennis elbow, knee pain, etc. They seemed very interested in pain relief.

Frankly, I felt very fortunate being able to attend the fair. It's really a great opportunity for me to promote acupuncture and, hopefully, some of these employees I met will come to me for my treatment.

I found that their main concern was whether or not their insurance plans cover acupuncture. I understand that HMOs and some PPO plans do not cover acupuncture.

However, I don't know exactly which ones do cover it and couldn't give them any answer. But I guess most of their plans do not cover acupuncture treatment. This is why they were so hesitant to come even though they had pain, and this is also one of the big issues acupuncturists in the U.S. are still facing today. I hope AAAOM can help us to get more recognition. Do we need to do more to educate the general public and the health insurance companies to change this situation?

Thanks again for giving me the opportunity to participate in the fair and to promote acupuncture. Please let me know if I can be assistance in the future.