News Archive

Any service that is on track to consume 40 percent of the gross national product of the world’s largest economy by the year 2050 cannot be ignored and that service is US healthcare. The reason that IHPC encouraged House of Representative members Mike Coffman (R-CO) and Jared Polis (D-CO) to form the bipartisan Congressional Integrative Health and Wellness Caucus was explicitly to ensure that Integrative Health has an authoritative voice at the table with people making decisions about policy, legislation and regulations. Both Members Coffman and Polis also belong to the congressional Problem Solvers Caucus working to craft bipartisan healthcare solutions. They know that when it comes to costly, chronic diseases, and crises like the opioid epidemic, integrative health approaches can offer improved outcomes with lower costs. In fact, a just released study today in JAMAshows there is no time to wait. The study revealed sad and striking numbers, “all deaths attributable to opioids increased 292% (from 0.4% to 1.5%) between 2001 and 2016, resulting in approximately 1.68 million person-years of life lost in 2016 alone.” Sadly, 20% of those deaths were adults age 24-35, a demographic that should be celebrating the future, not losing their lives to drug overdoses. While there is high skepticism and often cynicism as to what Congress can accomplish in the current highly partisan and polarized environment, there are committed bi-partisan Members working to make a difference. What Congress does matters to more Americans than you might think! Congressional action has direct impact on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Marketplace, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program, the Veterans Administration and the Department of Defense health services. Millions of Americans are impacted by these services, and the private insurer and health services market usually follow their lead. The Capitol Hill Caucus briefing on March 15, focused on integrative pain care and the opioid crisis, generated significant interest and requests for education and information from more than 30 Congressional offices (thank you to IHPC member AANP who included Caucus info in their Lobby Day). IHPC has continued to meet with legislators and their staff. On April 9, along with Board Member and AIPM Partner for Health Bob Twillman, PhD and interim Executive Director Susan Haeger, I met with both new Members and many interested in joining the Caucus. The whirlwind day across multiple buildings and offices confirmed high enthusiasm and interest in transforming healthcare to focus on prevention, wellness and well-being for health creation. There is a sea change in the landscape for health and healthcare. Large systems of care are embracing integrative health and turning attention to how communities and states can promote health and wellness, as well as encourage more attention to disease prevention. In pain care and especially in the opioid crisis – non-pharmacological and integrative approaches are being sought out. The time is now for communicating with, connecting and catalyzing legislators to champion this shift so that Integrative Health and Wellness can take center stage in health and healthcare in America. If you haven’t already done so, it’s time to enlist your elected officials to join the caucus. Constituent phone calls are most effective. Don’t hesitate! Click here for more information to make your call. In Good Health, Sincerely, Leonard A. Wisneski, MD Chair, Integrative Health Policy Consortium Video Highlights from Caucus Briefing on Capitol Hill In March, the inaugural Health and Wellness Caucus took place in Washington DC. The bipartisan efforts of Reps. Jared Polis (D) and Mike Coffman (R) with the support of IHPC, were met with great success. We’ve collected the various presentations from the caucus speakers. Click on the image to the right to access all the videos. Click on the titles below to listen to the highlighted speakers:   1.  Introduction by Len Wisneski, MD, IHPC Board of Directors Chair 2.  Opening Remarks from Caucus Co-Chairs Reps. Jared Polis (D) and Mike Coffman (R) 3.  Ben Kligler, MD, MPH presents a segment on integrative practices within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).   CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES TO JOIN THE CAUSE New Study: Active Integrative Protocols for Pain Management In this new study, researchers show that when patients are educated in integrative-care solutions, they are most likely to elect an active complementary pain management program. Study provided by our partners at Today’s Practitioner.   Read More Here  

Since the first of the year, IHPC has seen its CoverMyCare project involved with important initiatives in Minnesota and New Mexico and beginning to field inquires from a half-dozen states whose integrative professionals are considering similar actions.

Join IHPC and the American Sustainable Business Council, (ASBC) in our co-produced webinar: “The Future of Healthcare is Complementary Integrative and Holistic.” REGISTER HERE Tuesday, November 17, 2015 8 am Pacific 9 am Mountain 10 am Central 11 am Eastern A unique panel of experts brings real-world experience providing and evaluating integrative health options in diverse settings: from the special acute and chronic care needs in US military and veterans’ health, to very large corporate self-insured programs, to smaller corporate programs that use innovative ways to encourage employees to improve their health. Participants: Wayne Jonas, MD President and CEO Samueli Institute Kent Bradley, MD Former CMO Safeway, Inc. John Gamlin Director of HR New Belgian Brewing Although employers are becoming increasingly aware of approaches to health not usually seen in benefit programs, including mindfulness, yoga and other therapies, they are not yet fully informed about the true value, include cost benefits, of integrative outcomes. Nor are they aware that state regulators have not aggressively sought to ensure compliance with Section 2706 of the ACA, which when implemented could deliver significant cost savings at a time premiums are seriously rising. The webinar is part of the IHPC-ASBC education and awareness campaign “Integrative Healthcare Reimbursement,” which encourages employers to become involved in efforts in their states to ensure that the federal ACA Section 2706 (or legislative alternatives) give them and their employees the widest access to integrative health benefits. (For an update on state legislative initiatives being developed to ensure reimbursement for state licensed integrative health services, visit CoverMyCare.org) Webinar Moderators   REGISTER HERE

CAM professions are too often defined politically — by treatment modalities — rather than by full professional scopes, preventing licenses being honored in insurance coverage. Read More

2015 has been a season for testing the proposition that if a Federal law isn’t quite getting the attention of the people it is directed to, bring it to the states.Read More

The US Senate’s primary supporters of integrative health and medicine, Sens. Tom Harkin and Barbara Mikulski have moved for the second straight year — and the Senate has passed unanimously — a resolution declaring this week Naturopathic Medicine Week. Read More

Creating a defined new place — and role — for licensed complementary, alternative and integrative health practitioners in the nation’s redefined workforce: the Community Health Center. Read More

Follow this summary to download a IHPC’s response to the “Request for Information Regarding Provider Non-Discrimination” sent in early June to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Read More…

This timely briefing on April 10 will describe how current integrative health practices are addressing the status of American health reported in the influential Institute of Medicine (IOM) Report, “U.S. Health in International Perspective: Shorter Lives, Poorer Health.” Read more…

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) became law in March 2010 ushering in a slightly different world view than the “business as usual” healthcare model America was currently operating within. Read the full article, by Bill Reddy…