Practitioners Hope to Expand Medicare to Include Acupuncture

By Jessica Greene, Daily Sun

THE VILLAGES — For some time, Christopher Cheshire has provided patients with physical relief, but now he’s also pushing to relieve their wallets.

Cheshire, who operates an Oriental Medicine practice in The Villages, has started a petition in an effort to secure Senate sponsorship for a bill that would cover acupuncture treatments under Medicare Part B. “This is very important, because acupuncture is a safe and effective treatment for pain management and other conditions,” said Cheshire, a licensed acupuncturist and certified practitioner of Oriental medicine.

Acupuncture originated in China and utilizes thin, sterile needles placed at specific points on the body to treat a wide range of ailments including pain, allergies, Bell’s palsy, infertility and insomnia. Medicare does not currently cover treatments.

Although about 40 percent of Cheshire’s patients have supplemental insurance offering acupuncture coverage, many seniors who turn to the ancient treatment must pay out of pocket, he said. For those without supplemental insurance, treatment often becomes financially impractical, said Cheshire, who has operated Mulberry Oriental Medicine — now in Lake Sumter Landing — with his wife for the past five years.

“You know, it’s sad. We’ve had patients who’ve said, ‘I feel great after acupuncture treatments, but I can’t come here any longer.’ And with the economy the way it is, it’s harder for people,” he said. “It would be great if Medicare would help,” said Villager Jayne Lillard, who receives acupuncture treatments three times a month.

A herniated disk in Lillard’s lower back causes pain that traditional Western pain medications seldom alleviate as well as acupuncture, she said. But that relief is not covered by Medicare.

Villager Mike Davis is in similar circumstances. Davis says acupuncture treatments help him with his mobility, and he finds it frustrating that more expensive, less-effective treatments are covered by Medicare when acupuncture is not, he said. “I want (lawmakers) to know that adding acupuncture coverage wouldn’t be wasting money — it would actually be saving money, because people wouldn’t be wasting time and money going for this or that ineffective treatment,” Davis, a Village of Summerhill resident, said.

Recently, U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y., introduced HR 646, which proposes acupuncture treatment coverage under Medicare Part B as an amendment to the Social Security Act. But the proposal’s essence is not new.

Similar bills have been sponsored — and subsequently died — every year since 1993, Cheshire said.

Deborah Lincoln, president of the American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, attributes these previous failures to an overall “lack of knowledge” regarding acupuncture and what the treatment has to offer the general public, she said.

But this year, there’s a chance that the bill might make it through, said Lincoln. “There’s renewed hope because of the new administration’s focus on health care,” she said.

The bill still needs a sponsor in the Senate, Cheshire said. In hopes that he can help that happen, Cheshire is collecting petition signatures to show legislators that Medicare coverage of acupuncture is both needed and wanted, he said.

Cheshire isn’t alone. About 25,000 practicing acupuncturists in the U.S., like Cheshire, are advocating the bill alongside the AAAOM’s lobbying efforts, he said.

“I think that people in the U.S. have begun to realize that there are other ways to be treated,” Lincoln said.

For more information about the initiative, or to sign the petition, contact Christopher or Meredith Cheshire at 430-2720.

Jessica Greene is a reporter with the Daily Sun. She can be reached at 753-1119, ext. 7759, or jessica.greene@thevillagesmedia.com.