470 W. Harwood Rd, Hurst, TX 76054 Metro 817-498-8449 / Fax 817-281-4829

October 19, 2009

To All Patients

Re: Support of HR 646 Federal Acupuncture Coverage Act

Dear Valued Patient,

I hope this letter finds you happy and healthy. I am writing to ask you to please contact your representatives and ask them to co-sponsor HR 646 as soon as possible. This bill would add an acupuncture benefit, by a licensed acupuncturist, to Medicare and the Federal Employees Health Benefits plans. I’m sure that even if you are not on Medicare or a Federal Employee, you will be or will have a loved one that is.

Here is a sample letter, but adding your own personal experience would be even more helpful:

Dear Congressman/Congresswoman [name]:

As an acupuncture [patient/provider/practitioner] in your district, I urge you to cosponsor H.R. 646, the Federal Acupuncture Coverage Act. The bill, sponsored by Congressman Maurice Hinchey, would add an acupuncture benefit to Medicare and the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) plan.

I am one of the millions of Americans who know how effective acupuncture can be in treating chronic pain, addiction, and respiratory and digestive ailments. Both publicly and privately sponsored research confirm its benefits and the National Institutes of Health is continuing to study the effective applications of acupuncture.

For patients in search of safe, holistic treatments with little or no side effects, acupuncture has become an integral part of their health care regime. It is a safe, effective and inexpensive alternative to Western medicine. That's why more than 70 percent of the nation's insurers now cover some acupuncture treatments.

Please support the Federal Acupuncture Coverage Act, which would give federal employees, seniors and the disabled the freedom to choose acupuncture.

Sincerely,

Name, Address, City, State, Zip, Email Address

Letters, emails and calls to your representatives in Congress, urging them to cosponsor the Federal Acupuncture Coverage Act, are extremely effective. If you don't know who represents you in Congress, you can find out by entering your address in the "Write Your Rep" website sponsored by the House of Representatives at www.house.gov/writerep. Most Members of Congress can be emailed through their websites. You can link to their sites through the main House of Representatives page at www.house.gov.

Congressman Hinchey has been trying to get support for acupuncture for 16 years, since he’s been in office. He introduced this bill again 01/22/2009 and needs our representatives to co-sponsor so that this bill can get a hearing on acupuncture to better educate members of the committee and hopefully build support for the bill’s future passage.

Please visit our website for more detailed information at www.drchernly.com, or you can link direct to http://www.rallycongress.com/aaaom/1944/please-support-hr-646-federal-acupuncture-coverage-act/ just enter your zip code and quickly send a letter to 3 of your congress & senate representatives at once. Thank you for your help in this important legislative matter.

Sincerely,

Tanya Sexton, RMT

Insurance Coordinator

You have shaken the land and torn it open; mend its fractures, for it is quaking. (Psalm 60:2)

祢使地震動、而且崩裂．求祢將裂口醫好．因為地搖動。(詩篇60:2)