Billing / Fees / Insurance

American Acupuncture Council Sends Financial Aid to Katrina Victims Who Are AAC Members

Acupuncture Today Staff

SANTA ANA , Calif. - Philip Stump, president of the American Acupuncture Council (AAC), has announced that all AAC members living in the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina will be receiving refund checks equal to 3 months of malpractice insurance premiums to tide them over during this difficult time. In addition, AAC members will also have the opportunity to retroactively cancel their coverage for this year if they so choose.

All AAC members will also be eligible to receive additional free leave periods if they are still not in better standing at the end of the 3-month period.

"We wanted our members who have been victimized by the Katrina disaster to know that we are behind them, and want to get money to them at a time when many of our members desperately need it," Stump explained. "We will continue to work with our members until they are able to reopen their acupuncture offices."

AAC members who would like to check on the status of their Katrina aid checks can call (800) 838-0383.

"We do not know the total amount of the Katrina aid checks, but we expect them to be substantial," Stump added.

November 2005
print pdf
Trending
Acupuncture & Acupressure
It’s Time to Stop Prescribing Points
It's Time to Stop Prescribing Points

A student stands over a patient, needle poised. They have a “perfect” prescription: a textbook combination of points harvested from a lecture slide on chronic lower back pain. But as the needle meets the skin, the student hesitates - the symptom of a quiet habit that has taken hold of our profession. We routinely say we “prescribe” points. It sounds efficient. It echoes the authority of biomedical culture and fits neatly into the insurance field. But vocabulary is never neutral; repeated long enough, it dictates behavior.

Bruce W. Park, DACM
Acupuncture & Acupressure
Open the Orifices: Point Combinations for Allergy Presentations
Open the Orifices: Point Combinations for Allergy Presentations

Acupuncture can be highly effective in cases of nasal congestion so common in allergy presentations; so much so that I often treat such issues using acupuncture protocols alone. In cases of seasonal allergies with highly predictable causes such as obvious elevations of environmental allergens, I use a skeleton acupuncture prescription that can easily be fleshed out to target potential underlying patterns and effectively customized to the patient.

Craig Williams, LAc, AHG
News / Profession
Profession at a Crossroads: What Must Change
Profession at a Crossroads: What Must Change

The field of acupuncture in the U.S. continues to grow in visibility, patient demand and clinical effectiveness. Yet behind the curtain, many acupuncturists are quietly struggling to keep their doors open. While the profession is rooted in centuries of healing tradition, modern economic pressures – particularly those driven by insurance limitations, low reimbursement rates and job-market saturation – are making it increasingly difficult for licensed acupuncturists to thrive.

Shabnam Pourhassani, LAc, QME, DACM