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.
Three More Co-Sponsors for HR 818
Acupuncture Today has learned that three more members of Congress have added their names to the ever-growing list of co-sponsors for HR 818, the Federal Acupuncture Coverage Act of 2005, bringing the current number of co-sponsors to 41.
The newest co-sponsors are:
- Rep. Corrine Brown (D-FL, 3rd district). Rep. Brown joins her colleague from the Florida congressional delegation, Rep. Robert I. Wexler, in becoming the state's second co-sponsor of HR 818.
- Rep. Michael Honda (D-CA, 15th district). Rep. Honda is the 11th member of Congress from California to co-sponsor HR 818.
- Rep. John W. Olver (D-MA, 1st district). Rep. Olver joins Rep. Barney Frank as the second member of Massachusetts' congressional delegation to co-sponsor the bill.
For more information on the status of the Federal Acupuncture Coverage Act, visit http://thomas.loc.gov, and enter "HR 818" in the "Search Bill Text" box.