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Lawmakers hear bill to expand access to 5-needle auricular protocol for community behavioral health support
Summary
Supporters told the House panel HB 2143 would allow trained community providers to give a short, focused auricular acupuncture protocol used for addiction, trauma and stress; proponents said it is low-cost and already in use in many states and community settings.
The House Behavioral Health and Healthcare Committee heard testimony Jan. 30 on House Bill 2143, which would create a pathway to train and certify providers to deliver a focused auricular acupuncture intervention commonly called the "5-needle protocol" (AccuDetox) to address addiction, withdrawal symptoms, trauma and related behavioral health needs.
Witsa Goodson, an acupuncturist and instructor, described the protocol and the bill's intent: "5 needle protocol is a set of five acupuncture points in the ear that was developed in the early seventies... This is one of the first applications of acupuncture outside the Chinese immigrant community in the United States." Goodson told the committee the proposal would authorize a shorter, focused training program so that community members and peer providers could safely deliver the five-point ear protocol without completing a full acupuncture license.
Witnesses described clinical and community uses. "Over five decades of evidence suggests using 5 NP has proven that it can improve patient outcomes in terms of program retention, reduce cravings, anxiety, need for pharmaceutical dependence, behavioral health, trauma and cancer care," said Winona Veda Kunis, a Pocatello Technical Institute graduate and community-acupuncture practitioner. William Miller of the Naya Action Fund said the protocol is "cost effective at just 70¢ per session," and that the treatment can reduce stress and withdrawal symptoms and has been used in many community settings.
Panelists emphasized limits in the bill's scope. The legislation, as described by proponents, would allow trained 5-NP technicians only to provide the five-ear-point protocol and related ear-seed (acupressure) options; it would not authorize those technicians to practice full acupuncture. Advocates contrasted the short training for 5-NP with the multi-year training required to become a licensed acupuncturist: "To become a full on acupuncturist requires about a three-year school program ... To become a 5 MP tech requires a weekend," a witness told the committee.
Safety and precedent were recurring themes. Susan Williams, who helped craft Arizona's 2021 law expanding community access to auricular acupuncture, said Arizona implemented a similar statute with no safety complaints following enactment. Several advocates also noted recognition of the protocol by federal or national entities: witnesses named SAMHSA, the Indian Health Service and the Veterans Administration as organizations that have used or recommended similar approaches in some contexts.
Committee members asked about retained needle practice and alternatives; witnesses said needles are typically retained 15–45 minutes and that ear seeds (press-on acupressure) are an available alternative for at-home use. Witnesses also emphasized that community-delivered 5-NP is already used in many states and by tribal and community organizations to increase access for underserved populations.
The committee closed public testimony after hearing from practitioners, community organizations and clinicians and signaled it would review submitted studies and materials. There was no committee vote at the hearing.
