A coalition of health care advocates and San Francisco elected officials on Thursday slammed a state proposal to remove acupuncture services from Medi-Cal coverage, a move proponents say is unnecessary and will have a disproportionate impact on low-income communities of color.
San Francisco supervisors Danny Sauter and Chyanne Chen were joined by the city attorney and North East Medical Services, a nonprofit that provides health care services, for a rally in Chinatown’s Portsmouth Square to protest the governor’s proposed budget to make acupuncture services ineligible for Medi-Cal, the state’s insurance program for low-income people.
Sauter said acupuncture is an effective practice that helps people with chronic medical conditions, and a low-cost option that some people are more comfortable with. He made the case that it helped people while keeping them from using opioids or other medications that have the risk of becoming addictive.
“This is not a trend, this is traditional medicine,” said Sauter. “This is not alternative medicine, it is essential medicine. This is a model that is working because it’s a model rooted in the community”.
San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu, a self-described son of an acupuncturist, said the practice has helped treated billions of people worldwide for thousands of years. He said acupuncture is a part of the culture of many communities and cutting it from Medi-Cal would make it harder for people to receive a traditional form of medicine people are comfortable with.
“I know personally how incredibly important this health care is, how cost-effective this health care is,” said Chiu. “This is part of how our country, our state, our city can provide culturally competent care.”
The governor’s May version of the state budget eliminates the Optional Adult Acupuncture Benefit from the California Department of Health Care Services. It would cut $5.4 million in the fiscal year 2026-27 budget and then $13.1 million every year after for such services.
Members of the rally were frustrated they had to mobilize this year after fighting the previous two years on the same subject. They felt like the state was needlessly cutting coverage for a service that people, especially those in the Asian immigrant community, trusted — potentially eliminating the only affordable option thousands of people would realistically use.
This is not a trend, this is traditional medicine.
supervisor Danny Sauter
Primary care physician Dr. Kenneth Tai has seen thousands of people during his 20-year career at North East Medical Services. He said people find real results from acupuncture and its cultural connection with immigrant communities has meant people wary of medicine still have an option to receive care.
“Acupuncture provides pain relief that is safe, quick, effective, and non-pharmacological for many in our Asian, Latino, and immigrant communities,” said Tai. “Cutting acupuncture doesn’t erase pain or reduce cost; on the contrary, it shifts people to more expensive and often less effective care. Patients may delay treatment until they’re in unbearable pain, so that they end up in emergency rooms.”
For some users of acupuncture, the idea that they wouldn’t be able to continue using it because of cuts to Medi-Cal is frightening. Danielle McGee said the procedure has helped treat several chronic medical conditions that left her in excruciating pain, such as migraines and arthritis.
“I no longer am curled up on the floor in pain because of acupuncture,” said McGee. “I no longer go to the E.R. a minimum of twice a month because of acupuncture. Acupuncture has saved so much money for the medical system that I can’t even imagine not being on it.”
McGee said acupuncture has helped restore her dignity as she can live her life more comfortably and without constantly looking for medical attention.
“I would not be able to afford this if I was not on Medi-Cal,” said McGee. “This is an essential medical service that is needed to be kept and is saving our entire medical system huge amounts of money, and not to mention people like me.”
Naomi Hui, a representative for state Sen. Scott Wiener, read aloud his statement in support of acupuncture treatment. He said he would work to include acupuncture among a list of other benefits by introducing a new bill to the Legislature.
“Acupuncture is a non-addictive, non-invasive alternative to opioids and other pharmaceutical pain meds that carry significant risk,” said Hui on behalf of the state lawmaker. “It makes no sense that this critical funding is constantly being targeted by budget cuts. The bill I authored, SB 944 would address this health inequity and place acupuncture funding on a level playing field with other essential medical benefits.”