AHM Profession Calls to Action! Protect AHM Education

1. Contact Congress

2. Request Sign-On Support from Healthcare Institutions

As the AHM Coalition has previously reported, the Department of Education’s AHEAD final rule will evaluate graduate programs using an earnings measure that relies on Schedule SE self-employment data. That measure does not fully capture the private-practice and self-employed income common among Licensed Acupuncturists. As part of its Strategic Plan, CCAHM has been meeting with offices on Capitol Hill to address the AHEAD/STATS earnings measure. As part of that effort, CCAHM is sharing two calls to action below. Please note:

• More public information, along with past and ongoing updates related to higher education policy, is available on CCAHM’s Legislative Advocacy page.

• You may use any of the text and images below to share these messages with your contacts and communities. 

• If any hospital, health system or congressional office responds with questions, please have them contact Kristin Richeimer, CAE, Executive Director, CCAHM, kricheimer@ccahm.org and/or Venicia Gray, The Vogel Group, venicia@vogelgroupdc.com.  

We thank you for your continued partnership and all you do for the AHM profession!

1. Contact Congress about AHEAD, and invite Licensed Acupuncturists, students, faculty, and graduates to participate

We have posted a letter template that students, graduates, and faculty can personalize and send to their Representative and Senators. It asks them to support a fix to the earnings measure. The page includes tools to look up members of Congress and notes which committees have jurisdiction over the rule.

Please share the page through:

• Student and alumni newsletters or email lists

• Faculty meetings and internal channels

• Your institution’s social media

Get the Template & Contact Lawmakers

Get the Letter Template

2. Share the institutional sign-on letter with your healthcare partners

We are inviting healthcare institutions that employ, contract with, or refer patients to Licensed Acupuncturists to co-sign a letter to Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. The letter asks the Department to correct the earnings methodology and to engage with affected institutions and accreditors during implementation.

Please forward the sign-on page to:

• Hospitals and health systems where your students complete clinical rotations or externships

• Integrative and multidisciplinary clinics that employ your graduates

• Group practices and community health centers you partner with

Key details:

• Deadline: Wednesday, November 4, 2026

• Who can sign: healthcare organizations, through an authorized signatory

• Who cannot sign: federal agencies and facilities, including VA medical centers

• This letter is for healthcare employers and referral partners. Member schools are not signatories.

View the Sign-On Letter

View the Sign-On Letter

Here is a blurb/text you can use to contact your healthcare partners, along with the link above: 

CCAHM, the national council of acupuncture and herbal medicine colleges, is inviting healthcare institutions that employ or refer to Licensed Acupuncturists to co-sign a letter to the U.S. Secretary of Education. The letter asks the Department to correct how its new AHEAD rule measures practitioner earnings. Signing takes about five minutes, and the deadline is November 4, 2026.