The upgrade to center also provides $1 million to establish and operate a White House commission to make recommendations to Congress about policies for research, training, insurance coverage, licensing, and other issues in the complementary health field.
The Office of Alternative Medicine (OAM) was established by Congressional mandate under the 1992 National Institutes of Health (NIH) appropriations bill. The NIH is one of eight U.S. health agencies under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
In the OAM's first year, the budget appropriation was just $2 million. The budget increased to $3.5 million for the next two years, with modest increases through the mid-90s, leading to a $12 million budget for the OAM in 1997, and $20 million in 1998.
The American Chiropractic Association has worked with members of Congress over the last two years to give greater independence and authority to the OAM, in particular with Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa). It was Senator Harkin and Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon) whom introduced the legislative amendment. Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA) also championed the legislation.
Greater support for alternative care is a reflection of the reality of the some 60 million Americans who have used alternative therapies. A survey published in the May 20, 1998 Journal of the American Medical Association noted: "Forty percent of all survey respondents reported using some form of alternative health care in the year prior to participating in the mail survey."
You may recall that the OAM awarded the Consortial Center for Chiropractic Research (CCCR) a five-year, $2.7 million grant earlier this year, making the CCCR the 11th research center established by the OAM (see "Palmer College Will Headquarter Research Consortium" DC 23, 1998).
The increased funding for alternative therapies is another indication of the move away from traditional medicine. "We're very excited by the prospect of finally getting research into therapies that in some cases have been used in other countries for decades, even centuries," said Ralph Miranda, MD, president of the American Preventive Medical Association, a nonprofit advocacy group for complementary and alternative therapies.
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