Progress in 2010 Legislative Session

Coalition leadership, Kathy Taromina, Kevin Ergil and Michael Jabbour, continue to press forward on the issue of correcting the scope of acupuncturists in New York and improving patient care and our professional status.  Senate Bill 5512, sponsored by Susie Oppenheimer, and its “look alike” in the assembly, sponsored by Grace Meng, has recently been the subject of productive conversation with the New York State Higher Education Department, and it is hoped that the bill may move out of committee this year.  The goal of the bill is to make the statutory scope of practice of acupuncture conform to the traditional scope, including the use of herbs that are part of acupuncture in Oriental (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) medicine.  The bill will also alter the composition of the state board to reflect the traditional scope of practice, require additional certification and continuing education in relation to such practice, and change the current law to establish acupuncturists as mandatory reporters of suspected child abuse and maltreatment.