November 2018 Public Policy Update
Prepared by Leslie Emerick, WEAMA Lobbyist

Legislative Overview:
The mid-term elections were on November 6, 2018 that determined the configuration of the state legislature for the 2019 legislative session. Democrats gained seats in both the House and Senate. There are still some races that have not been decided as they are too close to call, but at last count, Democrats picked up 7 seats in the House making the split 57/41 and 3 in the Senate with a 28/21 split. Policy and fiscal committees may be restructured by the House or the Senate, such as the health care committees, adding some new members and replacing others. There will be lots of opportunities to educate new legislators on Acupuncture and East Asian Medicine!   Read more...

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About
The Washington East Asian Medicine Association first began as the Acupuncture Association of Washington over 33 years ago. The organization helped to provide a unified legislative voice for our profession. In fact, our founders were integral in helping establish the legal practice of East Asian Medicine in Washington state. Our all-volunteer Board of Directors consists of not less than 5 democratically elected professionals in the field.

WEAMA Business Meeting
Sunday, November 18, 2018, 1- 4 pm
Aegis Gardens, 13056 SE 76th Street, New Castle, WA 98056
GoToMeeting: You can attend by calling: (646) 749-3122 Access Code: 825-229-877

View Attached Agenda

Survey Results

Survey Comments

Legislation Timeline

By-laws Announcement

A limited number of printed supporting documents available on site. If convenient, please print and bring hard copies with you if attending the meeting in person. Thank you!

About
The Washington East Asian Medicine Association first began as the Acupuncture Association of Washington over 33 years ago. The organization helped to provide a unified legislative voice for our profession. In fact, our founders were integral in helping establish the legal practice of East Asian Medicine in Washington state. Our all-volunteer Board of Directors consists of not less than 5 democratically elected professionals in the field.

WEAMA Business Meeting
Sunday, November 18, 2018, 1- 4 pm
Aegis Gardens, 13056 SE 76th Street, New Castle, WA 98056
GoToMeeting: You can attend by calling: (646) 749-3122 Access Code: 825-229-877

View Attached Agenda

Survey Results

Legislation Timeline

By-laws Announcement

A limited number of printed supporting documents available on site. If convenient, please print and bring hard copies with you if attending the meeting in person. Thank you!

About
The Washington East Asian Medicine Association first began as the Acupuncture Association of Washington over 33 years ago. The organization helped to provide a unified legislative voice for our profession. In fact, our founders were integral in helping establish the legal practice of East Asian Medicine in Washington state. Our all-volunteer Board of Directors consists of not less than 5 democratically elected professionals in the field.

Please join us this Sunday!

WEAMA Business Meeting
Sunday, November 18, 2018, 1- 4 pm
Aegis Gardens, 13056 SE 76th Street, New Castle, WA 98056
GoToMeeting: You can attend by calling: (646) 749-3122 Access Code: 825-229-877
View attached agenda

Visit our website
Not a member? Join here

Reminder! Important insurance claims request from Johan Frostad

John Frostad has begun the dialogue with the Insurance Commissioner about the practice of insurers denying any EAMP-care outside of acupuncture needling. He needs all Washington practitioners to provide documentation of these practices.

Details here!

About
The Washington East Asian Medicine Association first began as the Acupuncture Association of Washington over 33 years ago. The organization helped to provide a unified legislative voice for our profession. In fact, our founders were integral in helping establish the legal practice of East Asian Medicine in Washington state. Our all-volunteer Board of Directors consists of not less than 5 democratically elected professionals in the field.

The WEAMA Bylaws last major overhaul was in 2010. As is often the case with laws and regulations, it is sometimes hard to predict a problem in advance. The bylaws have served the association relatively well for the past 8 years but need to be updated. To update the bylaws, WEAMA hired an attorney to review the current bylaws as they stand since 2010. After a cursory review with Attorney John Peick, we have found ambiguity in the language and a lack of clarity. The board does support a transparent process for elections and the process for vetting new board members. We want clear and consistent guidelines for the association that is consistent with state law.

This process will take some time for review, crafting new language, membership stakeholder input and the drafting of a final document. For the current volunteer board members to complete this extensive task and we are asking for your patience during the time it takes to accomplish this goal. Here is the timeline and plan for updating the bylaws:

1. WEAMA is in the process of firming up the contract with the attorney for the review and development of appropriate bylaws for the association. The goal is to have a contract with an attorney in place by mid-December, or sooner if possible, to begin working with us on updating the bylaws.

2. The Board will initiate a bylaws task force that includes 2 WEAMA members outside of the board and 2 board members who can participate in the development of the bylaws when the contract with the attorney is finalized.

3. The WEAMA Board will receive and review member applicants to be on the bylaw revision task force. If there are more than two applicants, bylaw task force members will be decided based on resumes and letter of intent as to why they want to participate.

4. The next step is to begin the review of the bylaws by the bylaw task force and the attorney, item by item, to determine whether it is still appropriate or needs to be updated. This process may take several months depending on how complicated the process is and time constraints of the bylaw taskforce.

5. After the draft bylaws are developed, we will request membership input on the suggested changes and followed by additional legal review of the suggested changes. The timing will depend on how quickly the task force and the attorney can come up with a draft document for the membership to review.

6. The draft bylaws will then be presented for review by the current WEAMA Board. Once the current board approves the draft of the updated bylaws, the bylaws will then be presented to the greater membership for additional review and comment to taken into consideration.

7. If possible, we would like to share a draft of the bylaws with the membership at least 30 days, if not sooner, before the WEAMA 2019 Spring Meeting in May.

8. It is the intent of the WEAMA Board to have a consensus from the membership on a final draft to present for final approval at our Spring Business Meeting in May 2019. (The date and location for the meeting has not been determined yet.)

We will provide plenty of advanced notice for the business meeting and want as many members as possible to attend and vote on the updated bylaws for the state association. If you are interested in reviewing the current bylaws, please go to: https://weama.info/about/bylaws If you are interested in being on the Bylaws Task Force, please forward your CV and letter of intent to info@weama.info. Thank you and we look forward to working with our membership on the development of these important provisions for our state association!

Legislative Alert!!
WEAMA is organizing a legislative day at our state capital for the first time in our associations history!

Please join WEAMA for our Acupuncture & East Asian Medicine Day in Olympia! We are going to be offering auricular acupuncture treatments in the Capital Building as a demonstration for legislators, committee and legislative staff and maybe even lobbyists, depending on who gets in line for a treatment!

Please mark your calendars for February 26, 2019. Orientation and review of talking point starting at 7 am! Let us know if you would like to be one of the practitioners demonstrating auricular acupuncture on interested parties!

WEAMA has reserved the Washington Room in Prichard Building on the Capital Campus for our legislative day. We will work with you to set up meetings with your local legislators to advocate for acupuncture. More info to come as we get closer to the date!

Sincerely,

The WEAMA Board

WEAMA Name Change Proposal Meeting

November 18th, 2018

1pm-4pm
Aegis Garden

13056 SE 76th Street
New Castle, WA 98056

This meeting is being held to gather stakeholder feedback from all WA LAc. WEAMA sent out a survey via email to all Washington acupuncturists to get stakeholder feedback prior to the meeting on Nov 18th. The survey included supporting documentation to give background information of why WEAMA is recommending this name change. If you haven't taken the survey yet, please do so. We need as much feedback as possible. 

Whether or not you can attend the meeting, please take time to read the supporting documentation to familiarize yourself with this proposal to potential name change. WEAMA will be sending out mail-in ballots for your voice to be heard. Please become a member of WEAMA if you would like to place a vote, as per the bylaws, only members of WEAMA can place a vote.

Please remember that everyone is allowed their opinion and WEAMA asks everyone to be respectful of other opinions. We can agree to disagree and still show respect for one another. That is true democracy.

Fall edition now available to members on our website!


https://weama.info/memberbenefits/meridiansjournal
Meridians: The Journal of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine is the official journal of the American Society for Acupuncturists (ASA).

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About WEAMA

The Washington East Asian Medicine Association first began as the Acupuncture Association of Washington over 25 years ago. The organization helped to provide a unified legislative voice for our profession. In fact, our founders were integral in helping establish the legal practice of East Asian Medicine in Washington state. Our all-volunteer Board of Directors currently consists of 5 democratically elected professionals in the field.

WASHINGTON ACUPUNCTURIST CALL TO ACTION!!

Mark your calendars and plan to attend and engage at these upcoming events!

ARNPs Medical Acupuncture Advisory Opinion Discussion with NCQAC - Acupuncture Workgroup meeting

November 13, 9:45am -11:15 am
Center Point Corporate Park Conference Center
20425 72nd Ave S, Suite 310
Kent, WA 98032
Mt. Adams Room

The Advisory Opinion significantly expands ARNP scope of practice into our highly regulated profession that is highly trained to practice acupuncture and requires NCCAOM board certification.

WEAMA strongly believes that there is a need for additional public review and clarification of this significant scope expansion. Please remember when representing our profession, it is imperative to be respectful.

WEAMA Name Change Proposal Meeting

November 18th, 2018 1pm-4pm
Aegis Garden 13056 SE 76th Street
New Castle, WA 98056

This meeting is being held to gather stakeholder feedback and a final vote will be held through mail-in ballots. WEAMA will send out a survey via email to all Washington acupuncturists to get stakeholder feedback prior to the meeting on Nov 18th. The survey will include supporting documentation to give background information of why WEAMA is recommending this name change.

Whether or not you can attend the meeting, please take time to read the supporting documentation to familiarize yourself with this proposal to potential name change. WEAMA will be sending out mail-in ballots for your voice to be heard. Please become a member of WEAMA if you would like to place a vote, as per the bylaws, only members of WEAMA can place a vote.

Please remember that everyone is allowed their opinion and WEAMA asks everyone to be respectful of other opinions. We can agree to disagree and still show respect for one another. That is true democracy.

East Asian Medicine Advisory Committee (EAMAC)

November 9th, 2018
Department of Health
Creekside Two Center Point Room 307
20425 72nd Ave. South
Bldg. 2, Ste. 310, Kent, WA

This is a public meeting and you are welcome to attend. Attending the EAMAC meetings allows our profession to be part of the decision-making and input for the WAC/Rules impacting your profession. The department is reviewing chapter 246-803 WAC to begin the rule drafting process. The public is welcome to take part in helping write rules. Rules are also known as regulations, Washington Administrative Code, or WAC.

2019 Acupuncture & East Asian Medicine Day

February 26, 2019 7am-4pm
Meet and greet with legislators.  Auricular acupuncture demo for legislators.

Join WEAMA for our Acupuncture & East Asian Medicine Day in Olympia! Come meet our legislators and create presence for our profession in Olympia.

WEAMA has reserved the Washington Room in Prichard Building on the Capital Campus for our legislative day. We will work with you to set up meetings with your local legislators to advocate for acupuncture. We are going to be offering auricular acupuncture treatments in the Capital Building as a demonstration!

Orientation and review of talking point starting at 7am! Let us know if you would like to be one of the practitioners demonstrating auricular acupuncture on interested legislators and their staff!

More info to come as we get closer to the date!

Important insurance claims request from Johan Frostad

John Frostad has begun the dialogue with the Insurance Commissioner about the practice of insurers denying any EAMP-care outside of acupuncture needling. He needs all Washington practitioners to provide documentation of these practices.

Details here!

Visit our website
Not a member! Join or renew here

About WEAMA
The Washington East Asian Medicine Association first began as the Acupuncture Association of Washington over 33 years ago. The organization helped to provide a unified legislative voice for our profession. In fact, our founders were integral in helping establish the legal practice of East Asian Medicine in Washington state. Our all-volunteer Board of Directors currently consists of 7 democratically elected professionals in the field.

Dear lovers of acupuncture,

John Frostad has begun the dialogue with the Insurance Commissioner about the practice of insurers denying any EAMP-care outside of acupuncture needling. He needs all Washington practitioners to provide documentation of these practices.

What we need:

1. Practitioner testimonials: Please write a testimonial describing how payment of CPT codes by insurers has affected your ability to deliver care to your patients. Are you having to make patients pay for services that should be paid by the insurer? Are you not offering patients services that they need as part of their care because the insurer will not pay for it? Mention specific insurers if you can. Please keep your complaints specific to non-payment of codes and not issues with pre-authorizations and such.

2. Copies of claims: Send claims that show denials for non-acupuncture needling codes. This includes things like cupping, tuina, and other services, but also necessary re-evaluations and herbal consultations, etc.

a. Please make sure to remove/black out all patient information on the claims before sending them.

b. If possible, please also send an explanation of specifically what it was you billed that was denied. Why was a re-evaluation needed? If a code needs explanation, what was the service it was specifically billed for?

c. Make sure all reason codes are sent also. These usually occur on the last page of the EOBs. The reason it was denied by the insurance is very important.

d. Please send denied claims for as many different insurers as possible. We will be addressing claims handling insurer by insurer.

3. Patient testimonials: Testimonials from your patients are also very important. If patients can complain to the Insurance Commissioner about having to pay for services out of pocket that should have been covered, that would be very helpful. Please make sure their specific insurer and service is included. Make sure they clearly address the letters to the Insurance Commissioner and sign them, so they can be forwarded on.

Send documents and questions to john_frostad@hotmail.com. If you cannot scan and send the documents, you can mail them to 3217 Meridian Ave E, Edgewood WA 98371.

Select the link below to view the text of John Frostad’s presentation to the OIC outlining our concerns as to how our practice scope is being handled.

"Ongoing Issues with Patient Access to EAMP Services."

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Note a member? Renew or join here!

About WEAMA
The Washington East Asian Medicine Association first began as the Acupuncture Association of Washington over 33 years ago. The organization helped to provide a unified legislative voice for our profession. In fact, our founders were integral in helping establish the legal practice of East Asian Medicine in Washington state. Our all-volunteer Board of Directors currently consists of 7 democratically elected professionals in the field.

Greetings,

We are sending you this White Paper to advise you that the WEAMA board has a recommendation for your consideration. WEAMA recommends a change to the name of our association from "Washington East Asian Medicine Association" to "Washington Acupuncture Medicine Association." 

For your review, attached is a White Paper, the petition from the Chinese community and personal statements from WEAMA board members. The White Paper is a summary of issues that have prompted the proposal of a name change and the petition from the Chinese community details their concern with our current name. WEAMA membership discussed the name change at our Fall Membership Meeting on Sunday October 21st and it was decided to hold a separate meeting to discuss this potential name change. WEAMA will send out more information about that meeting as soon as possible. Stay tuned!

Please give this your consideration and feel free to contact us at weama@info.com and please come to the meeting to further discuss in person. Thank you for your time and commitment to our profession!

If you would like to have the opportunity to place a vote on this important name change, please become a member of WEAMA today. In accordance with WEAMA bylaws, only paying members of WEAMA can submit votes. Becoming a paying member of WEAMA goes directly to support LAc legislative efforts like the preauthorization bill that just passed requiring preauthorization after the 6th visit. We need all Washington LAc to join forces. We need YOU! Add your voice today and help shape the future of our profession!

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The WEAMA Board Open Letter to Membership
Chinese Community Petition

Board of Directors personal responses

Tyler Martin Response.pdf

Jeremy Gilsoul Response.pdf

Charis Wolf Response.pdf

Catherine Dayhoff Response.pdf

Brenda Lowe Response.pdf

Respectfully,

WEAMA Board of Directors

About WEAMA
The Washington East Asian Medicine Association first began as the Acupuncture Association of Washington over 33 years ago. The organization helped to provide a unified legislative voice for our profession. In fact, our founders were integral in helping establish the legal practice of East Asian Medicine in Washington state. Our all-volunteer Board of Directors currently consists of 7 democratically elected professionals in the field.