Dec. 30, 2004 - Washington, DC - 108th Congress Ends with 63 Representatives Co-sponsoring the Federal Acupuncture Coverage Act


by Robert E. Marcus, J. D.,
Lobbyist for the passage of the Federal Acupuncture Coverage Act


When the 108th Congress (2003-2004) officially ended on December 7, 2004, the Federal Acupuncture Coverage Act of 2003, H. R. (House of Representatives bill) 1477 had gained 63 co-sponsors. The Federal Acupuncture Coverage Act covers qualified acupuncturist services under both Medicare Part B and under the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program.  The bill, when reintroduced by Rep. Maurice D. Hinchey (D), 22nd district, New York, in the 109th Congress in early 2005, will have a new number.

Since Rep. Hinchey first introduced the Federal Acupuncture Coverage Act in 1993, the bill has defined a qualified acupuncturist as a practitioner who is licensed, registered or certified in their respective state to practice acupuncture.  Reimbursement under the bill is for services practitioners may perform according to their respective state's scopes of practice.

My first trip to Capitol Hill, in response to the Federal Acupuncture Coverage Act, occurred during the Alliance's Legislative Day on Capitol Hill in 1994.  James Turner, an attorney in Washington, D. C., led this trip to Capitol Hill on behalf of the Alliance.

In April of 1995, after attending the second annual meeting of the Alliance in Washington, D. C., I visited the Capitol Hill offices of members of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, which has jurisdiction over the bill.

At the 1995 AAAOM meeting in Dallas, Texas, I met, for the first time, with Dr. Harvey Kaltsas.  When Dr. Kaltsas was the president of the AAAOM, he had led that organization's support for the Federal Acupuncture Coverage Act, in the early years of the bill.

When the AAOM held a meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1999, I was able to meet again with Dr. Kaltsas. At that time, he encouraged me to work towards passage of the Federal Acupuncture Coverage Act.  In 2000, I began an ongoing effort of compiling extensive and detailed information on national and state aspects of Oriental medicine, over a period of several years.  I ultimately put this information into packets, which I gave to congressional Health Aides, during my most recent lobbying efforts in Washington, D. C.

Between 2000 and 2002, I attended national acupuncture meetings.  I spoke with practitioners at these events, and asked them to help in the endeavor to pass the Federal Acupuncture Coverage Act.  Some of these acupuncturists joined me on two "Legislative Days on Capitol Hill" in 2000 and 2002, which I organized and led.  Before these trips to Capitol Hill, I trained and assisted these practitioners in how to approach their representatives.  Some of the acupuncturists, whom I approached at the national meetings, asked their U. S. representatives to co-sponsor the bill, when the practitioners returned to their home districts.

In January 2002, I established Marcus & Associates as a licensed business in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  Its goal is to lobby for passage of the Federal Acupuncture Coverage Act.

On May 18, 2003, in Los Angeles, Marcus & Associates signed contracts with Michelle Lau, President of CAOMA, Brian Fennen, Executive Director of CAOMA, and Dr. Richard Freiberg, President of the Coalition (the Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine National Coalition, AOMNC).  The two associations agreed that Marcus & Associates would be their lobbyist to assist in the passage of the Federal Acupuncture Coverage Act, in response to a desire by the leadership and the membership of the groups to support this bill.

In June 2004, Marcus & Associates established a full-time lobbying presence on Capitol Hill.  From June until October 2004, I personally lobbied Members of the Congress and congressional Health Aides in 121 congressional offices.  I extensively discussed with the Health Aides I met with, why the congressperson should co-sponsor the bill.  Everyone received me extremely well, particularly as I was following up on practitioners and patients, who had urged their representatives to co-sponsor the bill.

During the time that I spent on Capitol Hill, the number of co-sponsors of the bill, increased significantly.  The 1999 bill had 22 co-sponsors.  The 2001 bill had grown to 36 co-sponsors.  In December 2004, the 2003 bill came in at 63 co-sponsors.

The lobbying campaign to pass the Federal Acupuncture Coverage Act is a long and complex effort.  Thus far, recent support for the bill has come from CAOMA, the Coalition (AOMNC), and a number of state acupuncture associations, including those in Arkansas, Colorado, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, Tennessee, Rhode Island and Utah.  Practitioners in approximately 35 states have also given their support for the bill.

When Rep. Hinchey reintroduces the Federal Acupuncture Coverage Act in early 2005, he will ask all previous co-sponsors to join him as original co-sponsors of the new bill.  The immediate objective of the lobbying campaign is for 100 representatives to co-sponsor the bill, which will result in a hearing on the bill in the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health.  As 62 members of the new Congress, who co-sponsored the bill in the last Congress, will be returning to Capitol Hill in 2005, we are getting closer to our goal.

Marcus & Associates is working for the coverage of qualified acupuncturist services for Medicare beneficiaries and for federal employees in a single unified bill.  Success in the endeavor to pass this bill depends on marshalling the greatest amount of public, practitioner and patient support for a single legislative package in support of acupuncture.  Support for federal insurance coverage in this way, will help to successfully persuade the greatest number of members of the Congress, that it is now time to bring Oriental medicine into the mainstream of American healthcare.

You can help to bring the bill to a hearing.  Visit CAOMA's web-site at www.acucouncil.org and the Coalition's web-site at www.aomnc.com, to see if your representative is a co-sponsor of the bill.  To find out who your representative is, please enter your zip code at www.congress.org.  If your representative is not a co-sponsor, you can contact me for further information (see below for my contact information).  You can also contact your representative by telephone at their local district office, by e-mail or letter, and ask them to co-sponsor the Federal Acupuncture Coverage Act of 2005.  See contact information on the representative's page at www.congress.org.

Once you have called, e-mailed or written your representative, please contact me at Marcus_Associates@yahoo.com, at (276) 492-8098 (Cell), or at 731 Westholme Avenue, Los Angeles, Ca. 90024 (Temporary mailing address).  Please let me know the date of your constituent contact.  Please also let me know the name of the staff person in the local district office with whom you spoke.  Lastly, please let me know anything, which you may have discussed with the staff person, which might be helpful to me, when I follow up with your representative's Health Aide in 2005 on Capitol Hill.  It would certainly be helpful to discuss with the staff person, how your patients, who are current Medicare beneficiaries, have specifically benefited from acupuncture.  Additionally, there is a sample constituent letter posted on the CAOMA web-site. You can read the text of H. R. 1477 on the CAOMA web-site.

I have been an acupuncture patient for 24 years.  I have greatly benefited from this complex and amazing medicine.  I strongly believe that the Federal Acupuncture Coverage Act will greatly help million of Americans, by bringing Oriental medicine to them, and it will help our county in untold ways as well.

Your financial contributions will help to move the Federal Acupuncture Coverage Act forward.  You can ask five of your patients to each contribute $ 10.00 each to the lobbying campaign to pass the bill.  You can match the amount your patients have contributed, and send the checks to Marcus & Associates, 731 Westholme Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90024. If any of your patients would like to contribute a larger amount, you can give them my address. Your contributions are greatly appreciated.


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Contact Our Lobbyist:

Robert E. Marcus, J. D., of Marcus & Associates, is the lobbyist for passage of the Federal Acupuncture Coverage Act of 2003 (H. R. 1477) for the Council of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Associations (CAOMA) and the Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine National Coalition (AOMNC).

Mr. Marcus welcomes practitioners and patients to represent acupuncture and Oriental medicine as additional point persons in congressional districts across the country to lobby their representatives to co-sponsor H. R. 1477.  Robert Marcus can be contacted directly at Marcus_Associates@yahoo.com.  Up-to-date information on the H. R. 1477 lobbying campaign can be found at www.aomnc.com and at www.acucouncil.org.