Acupuncture Association of America

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The Acupuncture Association of America (AAA) was established by acupuncturist Dr. Miriam Lee to provide education about acupuncture for the public, to advocate for legislation on acupuncture, to provide continuing education for licensed practitioners and to establish acupuncture research.

The Acupuncture Association of America was founded in 1980, and run by Dr. Lee until 1998 when she retired and passed the care of AAA over to her student, Susan Johnson, L.Ac. ^[1]

For nearly a decade, AAA single-handedly supported California state lobbyist, Mr. Art Krause. Dr. Lee financed the lobbying by teaching Master Tung's Points classes to her students and licensed practitioners. Krause, well respected in Sacramento, was able to negotiate agreements with influential legislators including Senator Art Torres and Senator Herschel Rosenthal, both instrumental in getting many acupuncture bills made into law. It is directly through their efforts and a few others, that California has both licensure and the most comprehensive scope of practice which includes primary care physician status, primary insurance coverage and Medi-Cal.^[2]

In 1989, The Council of Acupuncture Organizations was formed to unite the profession statewide in the legislative process, and to share the financial support of the acupuncture lobbyist. This group was composed of nine different acupuncture organizations throughout California including, three Chinese, two Japanese, two Korean and two Caucasian groups. This was the first and only real attempt to date to bring these different acupuncture communities together. Unfortunately, the group only met for two years, but during that time, the CAO was able to procure acupuncture coverage through Worker's compensation. ^[3]

The AAA continues to operate in California under Susan Johnson, L.Ac.