Policy Priorities
Overview
AACPN believes the future of American healthcare is built by expanding the spectrum of care, increasing therapeutic options, transforming behavioral healthcare, restoring independence, harnessing responsible innovation, and modernizing the healthcare system itself. Patients are the mission .Healthcare policy is the mechanism through which better patient outcomes become possible. Every human deserves legal access to the treatment that gives them the greatest opportunity to heal.
The American Alternative Care Policy Network believes America's healthcare system should continually evolve by integrating the full spectrum of scientifically validated healthcare. That means embracing both emerging innovations and long-established medical traditions whenever evidence demonstrates that they improve patient outcomes.
AACPN exists to advance evidence-based policies that responsibly integrate complementary, traditional, Eastern, conventional, and emerging approaches into the American healthcare system. We believe every American should benefit from a healthcare system that draws upon the full spectrum of scientifically validated options, regardless of where a treatment or model of care originated.
Our work is particularly informed by the needs of veterans, trauma survivors, first responders, healthcare professionals, caregivers, and individuals living with complex physical, behavioral, or chronic health challenges. Their experiences remind us that no single discipline or treatment category can meet every patient's needs.
Healthcare should give clinicians and patients access to the full spectrum of scientifically validated tools so they can choose the treatment that optimizes patient outcomes.
Vision
AACPN believes the future of American healthcare is built by expanding the spectrum of care, increasing therapeutic options, transforming behavioral healthcare, restoring independence, harnessing responsible innovation, and modernizing the healthcare system itself.
Patients are the mission.
Healthcare policy is the mechanism through which better patient outcomes become possible.
Every human deserves legal access to the treatment that gives them the greatest opportunity to heal.
Expanding the full spectrum of care
Many people already combine conventional medicine with nutrition, rehabilitation, traditional medicine, Eastern medicine, lifestyle interventions, acupuncture, acupressure, and other complementary approaches because they help them live healthier lives. AACPN believes healthcare policy should recognize and responsibly integrate every scientifically validated approach into coordinated patient care.
AACPN supports:
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Conventional medicine
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Integrative medicine
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Traditional and Eastern medicine
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Food as Medicine
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Medical nutrition therapy
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Lifestyle medicine
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Acupuncture and acupressure
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Preventive care
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Interdisciplinary care
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Rehabilitation
Veterans, first responders, and frontline professionals
Veterans, first responders, healthcare professionals, social workers, and other frontline professionals often face unique physical and behavioral health challenges as a direct result of their service to others. Higher rates of occupational trauma, chronic pain, post-traumatic stress, burnout, anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders require healthcare policies that recognize the realities of these professions and provide access to effective, evidence-based treatment options.
AACPN supports healthcare policies that expand access to safe, legal, and scientifically validated therapies for these populations while preserving the physician-patient relationship and encouraging individualized care. We believe clinicians should have the freedom to discuss all legally available, evidence-based treatment options with their patients, and that regulatory and reimbursement policies should evolve alongside scientific research and clinical experience.
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Expanding access to evidence-based behavioral healthcare and non-opioid treatment options.
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Supporting research into therapies for occupational trauma, chronic pain, PTSD, and related conditions.
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Modernizing healthcare policies to reflect evolving scientific evidence.
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Protecting the physician-patient relationship and informed clinical decision-making.
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Improving access to safe, effective, evidence-based treatments through thoughtful healthcare policy.
Therapeutic options
No single therapy works for every patient. Expanding evidence-based treatment options gives clinicians more opportunities to match the right treatment to the right person.
AACPN supports continued scientific evaluation of plant-derived and emerging therapeutics that have demonstrated or continue to demonstrate potential for improving patient outcomes. This includes cannabinoid therapeutics—including medical cannabis and hemp-derived THC beverages—as well as botanical medicines and future evidence-based therapies that expand treatment options for patients.
AACPN likewise supports continued research into psychedelic-assisted therapies involving compounds such as psilocybin, MDMA, and ibogaine for conditions including PTSD, treatment-resistant depression, addiction, and other behavioral health challenges. As with every healthcare innovation, these therapies should be evaluated through rigorous scientific research, patient safety, and measurable clinical outcomes.
AACPN supports:
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Medical cannabis
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Hemp-derived cannabinoids
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Cannabinoid therapeutics
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Psychedelic-assisted therapies
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Botanical medicines
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Emerging therapeutics
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Clinical research
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Responsible access
Behavioral health
Behavioral health is one of America's greatest healthcare challenges. AACPN believes innovation should reach the people who need it most.
Continued advances in behavioral healthcare are expanding treatment possibilities for veterans, first responders, trauma survivors, and others living with PTSD, depression, anxiety, addiction, and related conditions. AACPN supports responsible research into innovative approaches—including psychedelic-assisted therapies where supported by scientific evidence—that may improve long-term recovery and quality of life.
AACPN supports:
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PTSD treatment innovation
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Trauma-informed care
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Depression and anxiety treatment
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Addiction recovery
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Sleep health
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Suicide prevention
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Integrated behavioral healthcare
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Emerging behavioral health therapies
Restoring independence
Healthcare should restore independence as well as treat illness. Modern rehabilitation technologies are redefining what recovery can look like.
AACPN supports
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AI-enhanced prosthetics
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Brain-controlled and neuroprosthetic technologies
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Targeted muscle reinnervation
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Advanced prosthetics and orthotics
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Rehabilitation robotics
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Assistive technologies
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Occupational and physical rehabilitation
Healthcare innovation
Innovation is not limited to digital technologies. Scientific discovery continues to expand healthcare through advances in therapeutics, rehabilitation, nutrition, behavioral health, artificial intelligence, precision medicine, and other emerging fields that improve patient outcomes.
AACPN supports:
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Artificial intelligence
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Precision medicine
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Digital health
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Remote monitoring
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Clinical decision support
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Wearable technologies
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Data-driven care
A better healthcare system
A modern healthcare system should not distinguish between therapies based on whether they are conventional, traditional, botanical, technological, or newly emerging. It should distinguish between therapies based on scientific evidence, patient safety, and their ability to improve patient outcomes. Whether the innovation is an advanced prosthetic limb, a Food as Medicine initiative, an evidence-based cannabinoid therapeutic, a psychedelic-assisted treatment, or an AI-powered diagnostic tool, healthcare policy should evolve so scientifically validated innovations can responsibly reach the patients who need them.
AACPN supports:
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Medicare modernization
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Medicaid modernization
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VA modernization
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Insurance reform
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Regulatory modernization
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Clinical research modernization
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Workforce development
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Interdisciplinary healthcare delivery