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Why Chinese Herbs

During your time at MCA your acupuncturist might have brought up adding Chinese Herbs to your treatments. Why? The simplest answer is, sometimes acupuncture isn’t the only or best way to address various health concerns.

Chinese herbs are the medicine that makes Traditional Chinese Medicine (or TCM as it is commonly referred to) a complete system of healthcare. It is the yin to the yang of acupuncture. There are thousands of traditional formulas of herbs, all of them based on a system of understanding that combines taste (sour, bitter, sweet, pungent, & bland) and temperature (cold, warm, hot) of a plant material (leaves, twigs, bark, roots) to create a desired effect on the chemistry of the body. An easy analogy for Chinese herbs is food. We eat certain foods to have certain effects inside the body. For example, lemons are bitter and sour and create the pucker that helps to create saliva, while bone broths would be considered sweet and bland and help to repair tissue after illness. Chinese herbs are used to help the body to repair itself over time instead of masking the symptoms like an over the counter medication would.

Chinese herbs can be used to address a variety of symptoms and conditions. They are not recommended for everyone, especially those on certain medications like blood thinners, but in the right circumstance herbs can help improve conditions faster than acupuncture alone. At MCA we like to use acupuncture first and then add herbs as needed (or desired) on a patient by patient basis. All of our acupuncturists are board certified in Chinese Herbology, and during their training spent many hours studying Chinese herbs and formulas. All of the Chinese herbs at MCA are tested for safety and efficacy, and come as a pill similar to a supplement. We carry a wide array of formulas that address everything from constipation and menstrual issues to the common cold and sinus congestion. Chinese herbs range in price, and can cost anywhere from $10-15 for a two week supply.

So the next time you see your acupuncturist, ask how Chinese herbs could benefit you!

For a lot of our patients, the concept of sliding scale is new or even confusing. Some people have heard of sliding scale, but have never experienced it or benefited from it. We took the opportunity to explain our sliding scale and the reasons why this payment model is so important.

A sliding scale fee structure, sometimes referred to as ‘pay what you can’, takes on many different forms but is always intended to encourage financial freedom. Typically sliding scale is based on income, you bring in a pay stub and a sliding scale is determined for you based on what you earn.

At Milwaukee Community Acupuncture, our sliding scale, $15-40 per treatment, is based on what you can afford to pay that day- no income verification required.

Our mission is to provide as much affordable acupuncture to everyone in our community, regardless of income. Acupuncture works best when it is used often, and the way that private acupuncture is structured makes that difficult. Insurance coverage for acupuncture is minimal, and unless you are fortunate enough to have insurance coverage, we have created a space where acupuncture is the price of a co-pay.

Why do we offer sliding scale? We believe that everyone should be able to to access acupuncture, it’s not reserved exclusively for the wealthy or those who are ‘lucky’ enough to have acupuncture insurance coverage. We also believe in liberating our patients from the hassle and headache of insurance and want to provide an affordable service that is of high quality for anyone who seeks it out.

All of the practitioners at MCA are committed to social justice and trying to make our world a better place; we are lucky enough to practice acupuncture in a way that resonates with our moral code and allows us to earn a living wage. For us, offering sliding scale community acupuncture is how we can accomplish these goals. That being said, MCA is a non-profit and relies solely on the fees for service from our community to keep this business model afloat.

Community acupuncture is a concept that is as old as acupuncture itself; in order to treat the masses in China acupuncturists would treat as many people as they could fit in a room. Acupuncture is, and always has been, the people’s medicine. Passed on through familial lineage and through oral tradition, acupuncture in China was practiced by the ‘barefoot’ doctors roaming from village to village being paid in produce and chickens. We want to ensure that acupuncture remains medicine for the masses and to preserve the heritage of accessibility for everyone. Please join us in our mission, and thank you for your continued support.

Clinic Updates!

Donate to MCA

Donations to MCA help fund our pay-it-forward program and are tax deductible. For every $20 donated to MCA, we will give 1 free acupuncture treatment to a community member.

New Patients

Please call to schedule your first visit. You will be able to schedule subsequent appointments online.

Acupuncture for Veterans

MCA is a Community Care Network provider through the VA. Veterans can request a referral from the VA and receive acupuncture treatments at no cost to them with an active referral.

COVID-19 Appointment Guidelines & Illness Guidelines

Masking is optional

We provide surgical and KN95 masks at the front desk free of charge

Patients can request that their acupuncturist wear a mask while treating them

Please reschedule if…

You feel ill or have any symptoms of COVID-19. Symptoms include fever, chills, muscle aches, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, headache, or new loss of taste or smell. Even if you have tested negative, please wait until your symptoms have subsided to come in for an appointment.

You currently have allergies and can’t control coughing or sneezing.

At your appointment:

Check in with the receptionist.

If you are new to our clinic, please fill out our online paperwork before your appointment time or arrive early to fill it out in the office.

Pay for your appointment before heading back to the treatment room.

Sliding scale is $20-$50.

Enter treatment room, choose a chair with a Ready sign in the seat.

Blog

What is a sliding scale payment model?

Milwaukee Community Acupuncture

Clinic Updates!

Donate to MCA

New Patients

Acupuncture for Veterans

COVID-19 Appointment Guidelines & Illness Guidelines

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