Every time Tricia Tyrer rubs her face affectionately in her dog’s fur, she’s confident she won’t break out in a rash. It took some willingness to experiment and money on Tyrer’s part but she chose traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and acupuncture to solve her dilemma.

"None of the medications [the Western doctors] gave me really worked. The dermatologist said it was acne, which it was not. It was a definite allergic reaction and they pretty much told me to get rid of the dog and that was the only answer," she says, "I love the dog very much, I didn’t want to get rid of the dog. So I decided to try [TCM and acupuncture]."

Others with ailments such as asthma, abdominal discomfort, and Parkinson’s disease have gone the alternative route for relief from their conditions but they too are spending a lot money for the treatments.

Tyrer’s first visit to Dr. Diana Zhang, an acupuncturist and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioner in Regina, cost $65.00. Initially, Tyrer was seeing Dr. Zhang two to three times a week at $45.00 a visit but now she goes only once a month.

"It’s a lot but it’s worth it for me," she says.

For now, patients using this form of alternative medicine bear the costs because Saskatchewan Medicare only covers the cost of services that are either in a hospital or a physician’s office. Unfortunately, TCM and acupuncture are not offered in these settings.

Budgetary constraints are another factor making the provincial government reluctant to cover the costs.

"We all think we want money put into these other things [like] prevention, alternative therapies [but] it is very hard for us to find the funds to move over in those new areas, "says Andrew Thomson, a cabinet minister in the NDP government.

There is also the question of whether or not this form of alternative medicine is safe for its patients.

"Finding out the answer to that question is key to any decision about whether or not it will be included in [Medicare coverage in] the future," says Patrick Fafard, the Executive Director of the policy and planning branch at the provincial Ministry of Health.

Fafard also says that acupuncture and TCM are not covered under Medicare because there is no great demand for these services. "The demand is not great…. [and] in Saskatchewan and most provinces, the number of practitioners trained and willing to provide acupuncture services is quite small," he says.

Yet in Regina Dr. Zhang, with over 10,000 patients, is one of twelve TCM and acupuncture practitioners in the city. Individuals are using this service and wanting it covered but as a group they are not speaking up and asking the government for coverage.

However, Saskatchewan Blue Cross has listened to its clients and in June 2000 they began to cover the services of an acupuncturist. Clients can get up to $200 per year covered if they get the extended health benefits plan.

Getting TCM and acupuncture covered in some way either through Medicare or private health insurance is an on-going struggle. Getting it recognized and regulated is a battle too for Dr. Zhang, who is also the president of the Saskatchewan chapter of the Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture Association of Canada.

"It is up to the government to decide when they want to take us. It’s not whether or not we are not doing it. But we don’t have the power, we don’t control the politics," says Zhang.

One of the purposes of the association, which was established in 1983, is to lobby the provincial governments for the regulation of TCM and acupuncture.

So far, the only province to regulate it is British Columbia by opening the country’s first ever College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists. In a press release dated at the time of its 1999 opening, then Premier Glen Clark said by regulating TCM the province is recognizing it as an important and valued health option.

Yet the BC government doesn’t recognize it enough to cover TCM under its medical service plan (MSP). When asked why MSP doesn’t cover such services, a spokesperson said TCM is not really an approved or recognized medical procedure.

Ontario is another province that is starting to take steps in getting acupuncture and TCM regulated. "The [Ontario] government recognizes the importance of these practices to many Ontario citizens," says Sarah Saunders of the media relations department of Ontario’s Ministry of Health and Long Term Care. Saunders also says that getting them regulated could possibly lead TCM and acupuncture to be included in the Ontario Health Insurance Plan.

In the future, Tricia Tyrer hopes provincial governments or even more insurance companies will eventually cover TCM and acupuncture.

"In the end I am not utilizing Western medicine right now [for my condition], so I am saving [the government] money," she points out.