URGENT ACTION NEEDED: Protect Acupuncture & Herbal Medicine Education Funding!
Dear CCAHM Member Schools, AHM Community, Alumni, and Fellow Acupuncture Professionals,
We need your IMMEDIATE action regarding the higher education budget reconciliation bill currently being marked up by Republican staffers. This fast-moving legislation contains several provisions that would severely impact acupuncture and herbal medicine education nationwide.
CRITICAL CONCERNS IN THE PROPOSED LEGISLATION:
Graduate PLUS Loan Elimination - Would remove a critical financing tool for acupuncture and herbal medicine students, with many unable to find sufficient private loan alternatives
Lifetime Student Loan Borrowing Caps - $100,000 for non-professional master's degrees and $150,000 for professional degrees, creating insurmountable barriers for career-changers and those with prior educational debt
Federal "Risk-Sharing" Requirements - Would financially penalize institutions based on program outcomes, disproportionately impacting smaller specialized schools like acupuncture and herbal medicine colleges
Pell Grant Eligibility Changes - Redefining "full-time" enrollment as 15 credit hours (up from 12), reducing awards proportionately, and eliminating eligibility for students enrolled less than half-time
THE IMMEDIATE IMPACT: These changes threaten the sustainability of acupuncture and herbal medicine education, limit student access, reduce workforce development in integrative healthcare, and ultimately restrict patient access to these essential services.
ACTION NEEDED TODAY:
- Contact Republican Representatives IMMEDIATELY - Especially if your institution is in a Republican district. Personal calls and letters from school presidents, faculty, students and practitioners are most effective.
- Key Messages to Convey:
- Express desire to address budget shortfalls while acknowledging challenging economic times
- Explain how these provisions would devastate the integrative medicine education pipeline
- Emphasize that our programs train essential healthcare providers who serve communities across America
- Note the contradiction with healthcare workforce development goals and efforts to address the opioid crisis
- REQUEST THAT THESE PROVISIONS BE REMOVED from the reconciliation bill for proper consideration and debate
- Share Your Impact: Include information about your connection to acupuncture education, how these changes would affect you personally, or the impact on your local community's healthcare access
This is an urgent matter that requires immediate attention. Inclusion in the reconciliation bill would make these provisions difficult to reverse later. Please act TODAY to protect the future of acupuncture and herbal medicine education in America.
Together, we can protect the future of integrative healthcare education.
Email Template for Individuals
Email Executive Director, Kristin Richeimer (kricheimer@ccahm.org) with questions or comments. Thank you!