British Columbia Health Minister George Abbott announced Tuesday that low-income B.C. residents on the premium-assistance program-- those earning $28,000 a year or less-- will be able to see a registered acupuncturist under the Medical Services Plan.
"The evidence was just as compelling for acupuncture as it was for chiropractics, massage therapy and physical therapy," Abbott told CTV.ca in a telephone interview.
"All of them have a measurable benefit, and acupuncture does as well. So, I couldn't see a reason why we wouldn't want to include acupuncture."
The Ministry of Health received a request from the Chinese Acupuncture Association in May 2007, and based on the evidence, Abbott concluded that there was good reason to expand the supplemental benefits to acupuncture. The billing change will be effective April 1, 2008.
"We looked at the national and international literature around the advocacy of acupuncture treatments in relation to conditions," Abbott said.
"For a number of conditions such as lower back pain, migraines and several others, acupuncture was found to be beneficial for treatment of pain in those conditions."
Patients will be able to claim up to 10 visits per year, just as they would with other alternative medical practices such as physiotherapy, chiropractic or massage therapy.
"We are extremely pleased with the inclusion of acupuncture as a supplementary benefit under MSP," Dr. Harvey Hu, president of the B.C. Qualified Acupuncturists & Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners Association said in a media release.
"We hope that this move will encourage more British Columbians to recognize acupuncture as a safe and effective treatment option for a variety of medical conditions."
Dr. Mary Wu, President of the Toronto School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, thinks it is a step in the right direction.
"With government recognition and support of this form of medicine, it's going to make a big difference in its accessibility and the awareness of the benefits of acupuncture," Wu said.
She stated one of the main reasons people shy away from acupuncture is the cost. (The number one reason is fear of needles.)
"The cost for acupuncture depends on the practitioner, and (can) range between $50 to $100 (a session)," Wu said.
Chinese medicine is more than 4,000 years old, and can be used to treat everything from heart disease to insomnia.
Wu noted that acupuncture allows for the release of endorphins, which are natural pain killers, and can also help with the side effects of chemotherapy, such as nausea.,
Unlike western medicine -- where therapy usually includes drugs that specifically target a disease -- Chinese medicine is directed at restoring internal balance to the body.
"Chinese medicine works to balance the body's energy. In the body you have energy pathways, just like roads of the city," Wu said.
Acupuncture is the use of needles to restore disruptions in the yin and yang energy flow, which according to Chinese philosophy, is the cause of illness.
British Columbia is the only province that regulates all Chinese medicine therapies, and requires practitioners to be registered.
The B.C. Cancer Agency recently announced that it will launch a new study in 2008 working with Chinese medicine doctors. The study will investigate if the ancient therapies can benefit lung cancer patients under going chemotherapy.
