Recent Legislative Activity Summary

Mississippi

Jerusha DeGroote, president of the Mississippi Oriental Medicine Association, recently announced that the Mississippi Senate has unanimously approved a practice act and has sent this piece of legislation to the governor’s desk. This practice act, has now been signed into law, placing us closer to our goal of getting practice acts in all 50 states. Special thanks to AAAOM legal counsel Michael Taromina and NCCAOM’s Betsy Smith for their supporting efforts.

Nevada

A piece of legislation in Nevada entitled AB 167 would provide insurance coverage for acupuncture under certain conditions. Read the bill itself for more specifics:
http://www.leg.state.nv.us/75th2009/Bills/AB/AB167.pdf
The current president of the Nevada Oriental Medicine Association, Vince Link, supports the bill and is currently in touch with Shane Burras who will be providing expert testimony on the bill.

New York

According to the Acupuncture Society of New York, “The NYSAC bill has a new bill number and 21 sponsors in the NY Assembly. There is a strong sentiment of support for this bill. Recently, we met with a staffer from Senator Glick’s office, and we are addressing concerns presented to us from the Department of Education. We are also planning to meet directly with Senator Glick in her district office in NYC.” Acupuncture Today recently reported on efforts in New York to move toward herbal legislation. Read more about that effort:
http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/mpacms/at/article.php?id=31675

South Dakota

AAAOM-SO President Jolene Habeck and AAAOM legal counsel Michael Taromina have worked together to introduce acupuncture practice legislation in South Dakota. We will bring you news on the progress of this bill as we know it in the near future.

Washington

WAOMA recently has encountered legal challenges in Washington state around the definition of the term: “acupuncture and Oriental medicine,” in which lawyers have stressed we may collectively be creating a legal distinction separating “acupuncture” from “Oriental medicine” with scope of practice consequences. Read more about this from George Whiteside, WAOMA president, in the January, 2009, Qi-Unity Report.