2014年美國針灸協會提交7個法案,要求擴大權利,隻有一個通過:賓州.

2014年美國針灸協會提交7個法案,要求擴大權利,隻有一個通過:賓州.具體內容是:原來賓州要求針灸師接診病人達60天後,必須介紹病人去醫生那裏,現在改為“如果60天後沒有症狀了就不需要介紹".但是,給針灸師發執照提案在Alabama州被否,路易斯安那州幹脆置之不理,密西西比拒絕要求醫生提供針灸師介紹信.同年,加州的中醫協會提交法案,要求設置“Traditional Chinese Medicine Traumatologist” 證（中醫創傷師？）,被議會否決.

但是,值得中華兒女歡欣鼓舞的是賓夕法尼亞州通過了法案,將2014年10月24日定為“針灸和東方醫學日”.理由是“被使用了千年”.

美各州對針灸和傳統中醫藥的提案情況:

來源: http://sfsbm.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=488&Itemid=924

Acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Oriental Medicine

ALABAMA: Did not pass; Legislature adjourned. Senate Bills 384 and 452 and House Bill 541 would legalize the practice of acupunture in Alabama. Acupuncture is defined broadly as "a form of health care developed from traditional and modern Oriental medical concepts and modern research, that employs acupuncture diagnosis and treatment." The bill also permits, quite broadly, unspecified "adjunctive therapies and diagnostic techniques, for the promotion, maintenance and restoration of health and the prevention of disease." In addition to needle instertion, electroacupunture, electrodermal assessment, Qi Gong, moxibustion, herbs and dietary supplements would be permitted. Acunpuncturists could not make a medical diagnosis, only "pattern differentiation according to traditional Chinese medicine" and must refer to a physician under the loose standard that a patient is "not improving" or requires emergency medical treatment. The bill buys into the myth that education and training according to certain standards, created wholly by acupuncuturists, somehow improves the fact that acupuncture (in all its forms) is pseudoscience and there is no evidence that is effective for anything.

ARIZONA: Did not pass; Legislature adjourned. House Bill 2548 expands the scope of practice of "auricular acupuncture" to include post-traumatic stress disorder. It limits the number of needles per ear, per treatment, to five. Given the fact that auricular acupuncture has no plausible basis and is not effective for anything, the necessity of this limitation is puzzling, as the number of needles per ear cannot possibly matter.

CALIFORNIA: Passed Senate but not House; Legislture adjourned. Senate Bill 218. Creates Traditional Chinese Medicine Traumatologist certification. TCM traumatology is defined as a system of treatment of musculoskeletal conditions by stimulation “acupressure points” to “open the body’s defensive chi and stimulate energy movement in the meridians.”

PENNSYLVANIA: Passed; signed into law by Governor. Senate Bill 990, House Bill 266. These bills contain both good and bad provisions. Current law requires an acupuncturist to refer to a physician if he treats a “condition” beyond 60 days. The bad: These bills would not require the referral if the patient doesn’t present with a “condition.” In such a case the acupuncturist should not be treating the patient at all, not continue to treat the patient, as this bill would allow. In any event, no acupuncturist should be allowed to treat any patient beyond 60 days no matter what the patient’s “condition” so the law should not be amended in this respect. The good: The bills require acupuncturists to carry at least $1 million in liability insurance.

PENNSYLVANIA: The Pennsylvania House passed a resolution making October 24, 2014 "Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Day." The resolution says that these have been "used for thousands of years to diagnose and treat illness, prevent disease and improve well-being." It fails to reveal that, while it may have been "used" for these purposes, it is not "effective."

LOUISIANA: Did not pass; Legislature adjourned. Senate Concurrent Resoultion 22 directs the Department of Health and Hospitals to create the "Practice and Regulation of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Review Committee." The Committee would study whether acupuncture and oriental medicine should be regulated and licensed by an independent state board and what the requirements for practice should be. Currently, only physicians and trained "assistants" can perform acupuncture. The resolution makes a number of incorrect statements about acupuncture: that it provides important health benefits; that it is a "proactive avenue towards health when neither symptoms nor severity of disease warrants other forms of of treatment," and that it is a "valuable way to to identify those in need of a referral to a western medical provider." In other words, a trifecta of evidence-free assumptions.

MASSACHUSETTS: Did not pass; Legislature adjourned. House Bill 3972 is a new draft for Senate Bill 1107 and House Bill 2051. The bill create a commission on “acupuncture and wellness” consisting of acupuncturists, state health officials and representatives of the insurance industry. The commission would study how to best integrate acupuncture services into state health care “to expand access, reduce health care costs, and provide improved quality of care to Massachusetts residents.” The underlying premise of the bills is flawed in that it assumes acupuncture has anything to offer which would achieve these goals. It is a transparent attempt to force a conclusion that the expansion of acupuncture services is warranted. The bill forces insurers to provide benefits for acupuncture and oriental medicine based diagnosis and treatment "in the areas of pain management, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse treatment, and nausea."

MISSISSIPPI: Did not pass; Legislature adjourned. Senate Bill 2391. Expands scope of practice. Acupuncturists keep trying to get out from under the current state law requirement that they can see patients only on physician referral. This bill would exempt an acupuncturist from the referral requirement if he or she remains in good standing in the state for five consecutive years.