CityView Magazine

64 | Feb/Mar • 2010 Those who practice traditional Chinese medicine believe the health of the body depends on the unobstructed flow of life-giving Qi (pronounced chee) as well as the proper balance of yin and yang. Qi is the flow of energy through the body. Yin and yang are often described as opposing forces that function harmoniously when they are in balance. An imbalance of yin and yang, along with the inefficient movement of Qi, results in disease. Acupuncture, which is the insertion and manipulation of thin, metal needles into various points along the body's meridians or pathways, is thought to stimulate Qi, helping to prevent or treat disease and ease pain. needle back and forth gently a few times and then asked him to bend his legs. How is the pain? "No pain," Dean said. "I don't feel anything right now." She placed more needles in carefully chosen places on his body and spun them between her fingers. Dean never even flinched. The only downside to the Schmude family's success with acupuncture is the cost. Because it is categorized as a complementary or alternative medicine, acupuncture treatments usually are not covered by insurance. But that may be changing. Some insurance companies have begun offering an acupuncture benefit. Twelve states, including California, New York and Florida, have passed legislation that makes it mandatory that insurance companies offer customers in those states acupuncture coverage, said Ginna Browning, a Raleigh acupuncturist and the president of the N.C. Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. A bill introduced early last year in Congress would provide such coverage for Medicare patients and all federal government employees. It was even discussed during the recent debate over healthcare reform. For now, most patients pay for acupuncture out of pocket. Prices for a session begin around $60 and go up from there. That makes Denise Schmude angry. "It is irritating that the only relief my son gets is from an unrecognized treatment," she said. "But you see results, so you find the money." Despite a lack of insurance coverage, millions of Americans have turned How does it work?

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