You can add some of these talking points to your meeting.
Print These and Give Them to Your Legislator
Acupuncture for Chronic Pain: Update of an Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis
The Journal of Pain, Vol 19, No 5 (May), 2018: pp 455-474
“Acupuncture is effective for the treatment of chronic musculoskeletal, headache, and osteoarthritis pain. Treatment effects of acupuncture persist over time and cannot be explained solely in terms of placebo effects. Referral for a course of acupuncture treatment is a reasonable option for a patient with chronic pain.” Acupuncture effective for chronic pain beyond placebo with sustained benefit at one year reduced by 15%. NO OPIOID DOES THAT.
Attorneys General to Insurers: Cover Acupuncture
“The undersigned State Attorneys General are sending you this letter to urge America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) to take proactive steps to encourage your members to review their payment and coverage policies and revise them, as necessary and appropriate, to encourage healthcare providers to prioritize non-opioid pain management options over opioid prescriptions for the treatment of chronic, non-cancer pain…… When patients seek treatment for any of the myriad conditions that cause chronic pain, doctors should be encouraged to explore and prescribe effective non-opioid alternatives, ranging from non-opioid medications (such as NSAIDs) to physical therapy, acupuncture, massage, and chiropractic care.”
Other Possible Handouts
Power Point on Opioids and Acupuncture
Acupuncture for Chronic Pain in the Vermont Medicaid Population
Acupuncture’s Role in Solving the Opioid Epidemic from the ASA
Acupuncture and Opioid Addiction
Joint Commission Pain Management Standards
Other Resources to Share
Acupuncture Outperforms Morphine for Moderate to Severe Pain
NBC Nightly News – Pain Relief Without Pills
Emergency Room Patients are Choosing Acupuncture Instead of Painkillers