Because Michigan can never just leave well enough alone, can it?
I found out from my acupuncturist that the state of Michigan is considering requiring it’s citizens to get a doctor’s referral to go to an acupuncturists. So, in other words, rather than hearing from a friend that she went to acupuncture and that person deciding to give it a try too–Michigan wants to make it so that you have to go to a doctor first, and then, if the doctor is willing to actually give you the referral, you can go to the acupuncturist.
Many people who know about the history of midwives in the U.S. know why this is such an extraordinarily bad idea. But for those who don’t know that history–what this particular requirement would do is first and foremost, place an incredibly unfair burden on those people who don’t have health insurance. Those who are unable to afford a doctor would simply have yet another health alternative option removed from their already limited health arsenal.
In other arenas, it takes yet another independent profession and forces it under the control of a medical establishment that has proven already–it simply doesn’t work. It doesn’t *prevent* ill health, and in many ways, it actually encourages it. Again, to point to the midwives–as the process of birthing has become more and more medicalized, more and more women are becoming criminalized and subjected to unnecessarily violent births. Women who make the choice to refuse a cesarean (which is in a woman’s legal right to do) are getting children taken away for not submitting their bodies to the procedure.
The lives of the women are considered less important than a medical procedure.
Acupuncture is not necessarily subject to the same experiences. Until the community acupuncture model came to Michigan, it was something (and still is) something that simply isn’t widely available–and was only affordable to an elite group of people and/or people who were lucky enough to have insurance that covered the practice.
But now we have the community acupuncture model. We have dedicated women (interesting, huh?) who are finding ways to make the practice of acupuncture affordable and available to those people who are literally poorest of the poor. Detroit, for example, has an unemployment rate that rivals the Great Depression. It has people who simply don’t have the money to go to a doctor. Who often don’t have the 15$ it takes to go to acupuncture. Who are those people that everybody talks about–those ones who die from untreated cancer–because they didn’t have the money to go to the emergency room. A family member of mine had this happen–by the time he finally was vomiting blood and unable to work, he went to the Emergency room. About a month later he was dead.
We live in a system that deals with health care of poor and uninsured by keeping them out of the doctor’s office and hospital until they are dead. Then it pats itself on the back for it’s cancer treatment rates.
Community acupuncture models, while maybe not equipped to cure cancer–can extend the lives of people who deserve to live. I still get weepy when I read this story of a working class cancer stricken man interacting with community acupuncture. I think about my relative. And I wonder–How would things have been different? If every week he spent $15 dollars getting a treatment. Would the cancer have been so violent? Would he have had a few more precious weeks with his kids? Even a few more days?
Would he have been in so much fucking horrible pain at the end?
I’ve talked for a long time about what community acupuncture has done for my health. For those where it simply doesn’t work–it doesn’t hurt, either. Unlike so many medicines and doctors that at the best are struggling to do what they can, and at the worst, simply don’t give a shit. And it’s doing more than the system that doesn’t work. That simply doesn’t work.
This is a practice that deserves to expand and grow and become a regular part of every person’s life (if they want it to). Michigan’s new law would take away my ability to go to acupuncture–it would take away my daughter’s right to sit and take up space while she gets her health taken care of–it would make it impossible for all the thousands of people in Michigan who are out of work and without insurance to even *consider* getting help for their bodies.
Michigan has fucked with it’s citizens long enough. It needs to make self-referral to acupuncturists legal. And allow those of us who are regularly denied health care by the system they say they should be regulating acupuncture to find health and healing in a space that honestly really and truly does care if they live or die.
What you can do to help:
Sign this letter to send to Michigan legislators (even if you don’t live in Michigan! Or you haven’t used acupuncture!)
Forward this post
Read about why community health models are essential to revolutionary movements
Support community acupuncture clinics in your own state/Country!
Read Ouyang Dan’s post
Read Jaded Hippy’s post
- Share
November 6th, 2009 at 6:55 pm #
Oh hell no… Spreading the word!!!
November 7th, 2009 at 3:41 am #
Petition signed, word being spread.
Thanks!
November 7th, 2009 at 5:34 am #
signed the letter, & quoting/linking at my place (which… doesn’t reach a ton of people but it’s what i can do).
November 7th, 2009 at 5:35 am #
and actually, i’m also gonna forward this to my mom and see if she’s willing to pass it on to her spiritual organization, which reaches a pretty large number of people.
November 7th, 2009 at 5:43 am #
***hugs isabel***
******hugs again*******
many many thanks xoxoxoxoxo
November 7th, 2009 at 6:33 am #
and to ouyang Dan and whatsername–i have linked the both of you on facebook, and will put ur links up on the post! thanks SO much time for taking the time to respond!!!! xoxoxoxo
November 7th, 2009 at 7:16 am #
You are most welcome. And big hugs back.
November 7th, 2009 at 8:53 am #
“A mom in New Jersey acted erratically while in labor. She was combative. She was noncompliant.”
Gee, I wonder why a woman would be grumpy whilst giving birth?
“A family member of mine had this happen–by the time he finally was vomiting blood and unable to work, he went to the Emergency room. About a month later he was dead.”
Wow. So sorry for your loss. And so angry.
I could write pages on the problems of the NHS, but it pales in comparison to that.
November 7th, 2009 at 9:01 am #
Being outside the US, I can’t sign the letter.
November 7th, 2009 at 10:22 am #
Hey everyone, just wanted to clarify that the doctor referral is apparently the interpretation of the *current* law – I put down the backstory, so far as I understand it, here: http://www.detroitcommunityacupuncture.com/?p=265
I’ll happily amend that info as soon as I get access to any better/clearer information.
BFP, thanks for the awesome tie-in to midwives, who are a huge inspiration to me and a lot of other acupunks. And thanks to everyone who has taken the time to weigh in on this issue; over 130 emails have been sent so far – here’s hoping they have a positive impact. Next step: making acupuncture training more accessible…stay tuned.
November 7th, 2009 at 1:16 pm #
thanks for the details Nora! for the record, along with making training more accessible, there is still a significant issue of making acupuncture accessible at all. over there, ya’ll are doing it! but on this side of the state, we don’t have folks like you! in my city, NONE of the acupuncturists accept insurance (if you even had insurance to cover it anyway) so it’s cash at time of service, but the service is 20-30 minute sessions at $65-$100 per session, and they pretty universally recommend 2-3 sessions per week. also, only one clinic is accessible by mass transit, and then none of them have convenient hours. frankly, none of them had very nice service over the phone when i was calling for info, for that matter. that’s why i get so excited to hear about what you are doing over there with community acupuncture and it is very radical!
November 7th, 2009 at 6:25 pm #
Aaminah – and anyone else in Michigan (or the Midwest in general) – I would be MORE than happy to talk to any acupunk who is interested in doing Community Acupuncture. It *kills* me that there are no Community Acupuncture clinics in Toledo or Cleveland or Kalamazoo or Grand Rapids , much less Clarkston (for example), that I can refer people to. That’s part of the reason we really want to work on reducing the training requirements for entering the profession (current programs run around 3000 hours, which is unnecessarily excessive & expensive), so that it could be something that someone FROM one of those places could study & hopefully make a modest living at–without having a trust fund, or a naive/foolhardy relationship to student loan debt (like myself).
Anyway, if you know of any acupuncturist in your area that you think might be receptive, bug them! Or send them *all* unsolicited angry letters! There must be at least one who isn’t making a living charging so much (because MOST people are like yourself and can’t afford that kind of cash outlay), or who feels uncomfortable about their rates, and who is open to converting.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:35 pm #
Forwarded this post to some folks I am especially close to in Ann Arbor! Good luck to all of you.