Jeff Rippey Acupuncture

06/16/2025

I normally post something at the end of the year talking about how business has been and where I’m going with pricing for the new year. This post is something of a break with that tradition.

2025 has been an unprecedented year in many respects. A lot of us are watching the economy closely with a question mark perched over our head. As you might imagine, most of the supplies I use in my business come from East Asia, primarily China. The ever-changing tariff situation doesn’t help from a planning perspective.

Earlier in the year, my suppliers were committed to keeping prices steady in 2-4 week intervals. Now, though, I’m seeing notifications that tariffs are in effect and they’re passing some or all of the added cost along to me.

With all the uncertainty, business is slightly down relative to this time last year. It’s not down so much that I’m not sure I’ll be able to stay in business, but it is creating a certain amount of enhanced uncertainty.

It’s not only business supply costs. As groceries and other necessary goods and services climb in price, I’m affected just like everyone else.

So, starting in July 2025, I’m going to have to make some adjustments.

First off, In January 2025 I added Tuesday hours which put me in the office 4.5’ish days per week. I’ve done a 4-day work week since I started practicing Chinese medicine many years ago. I wasn’t sure how a 4.5-5-day week was going to go.

Working with 90-100 (or more) people every week can be very rewarding, and I love what I do. It can also be very challenging. Turns out I really need that 3rd day to completely reset so that I’m fully functioning by the time the next week rolls around. I’ve noticed my game is lagging a bit and the extra working day is the only thing that has changed.

Starting in July, I’m going to go back to Wednesday-Saturday. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday will be 9AM to 6PM. Even before 2025 Saturdays usually dropped off in the afternoon, so I’m going to keep Saturday hours 9AM to 3PM. If I get enough people wanting to come in after 3 on Saturday, I’ll extend my hours on that day.

I’m going to break with my usual tradition and have a mid-year price increase. Starting in July, a 15-minute session will cost $40, and a 30-minute session will be $80. Almost no one uses the 45- or 60-minute sessions, so we’re phasing those out.

Keep in mind, the session times represent how long a patient rests with needles in place NOT the length of the entire appointment. A 15-minute session usually means 20-30 minutes total time in the office. A 30-minute session is usually closer to 50 minutes total office time. We pad these appointments behind the scenes to make sure there’s enough time for us to discuss your issue.

I’ve done no charge 30-minute consults for prospective patients since I started practicing. These visits will remain no charge.

Current contract price is $85/month for 6- or 12-months. Starting in July, new contracts will be $90/month for 6- or 12-months. Contract pricing is fixed for the life of the contract; if you’re already on a contract nothing changes unless or until you renew.

The contracts are intended to help people needing intermediate or long-term treatment manage session costs. Sometimes chronic conditions or complex presentations require extended treatment. A month’s worth of 15-minute sessions will cost $160 and a month’s worth of 30-minute sessions will cost $320. At $90/month, the contract is saving $70 and $230 per month respectively.

I really appreciate everyone who comes in, even if it’s only one time. I struggled with this mid-year increase because I know everyone is stretched thin right now. Hopefully we’ll all sail smoothly through the rest of 2025.

06/06/2025

Update to the office AC situation. It seems to be fixed. Fingers crossed it holds this time.

06/03/2025

Informational post for June 3rd 2025.

Some of you may be aware that I had some AC issues in the late spring. Not that big a deal then because it was still fairly cool outside.

I walked into my office this morning to a balmy 79 degrees - front and back. I have windows open, but it's not helping much.

I'm someone who does not like the heat. To me much over 70 degrees is too hot. So, I get it if 79 degrees sounds uncomfortable to you. It's uncomfortable for me.

If you're someone who doesn't tolerate heat well, I totally understand if you'd prefer to reschedule at a time when we have AC working again. Just give us a call or send a text to the office line and Melinda will take care of you.

I'll post an update when the AC is running again.

03/05/2025

I'm in the office today. Just because I'm here doesn't mean you have to be here. The roads are icy, and people are driving like idiots (talking to you red chevy that pulled out in front of me on Gene Field and then proceeded to struggle up the hill to the bridge over I-29 because you misjudged and were too heavy on the gas in icy conditions. You just about got both of us stuck on that stupid hill.)

Roads are ice under the snow. Our lot has not been plowed or salted yet. Our sidewalks have likewise not been shoveled or salted yet. St. Maartens has not been salted or plowed. If you choose to get out, please be careful and be extra careful walking across the lot or on the sidewalks getting into the building.

02/25/2025

I don't normally like to link these HealthCMI studies. In the past, they've been of questionable value as they typically show 100% or nearly 100% response rate for acupuncture. Any time you see a therapy that claims 100% response rate or 100% improvement, your antenna should go up as that's very unlikely from a statistical point of view.

I'm linking this one for a couple of reasons. First, it's not claiming a 100% response rate.

Second, this was a 3-arm study. There was an acupuncture group, a "sham" acupuncture group, and a usual treatment group. There is much ado about "sham" in acupuncture studies, and this study shows exactly what I would expect to see in a study of this type. Namely real acupuncture outperforms "sham" and both real acupuncture AND "sham" acupuncture outperform standard treatment.

Why does this happen? I'm glad you asked, because it gives me an opportunity to link you to a blog post I made several years ago: https://www.jracu.com/post/the-placebo-question

Bottom line is acupuncture can be very effective in the treatment of migraine. This is something I work with a lot.

Acupuncture significantly reduces the frequency and severity of migraines compared to sham acupuncture and usual care.

02/20/2025

Not necessarily new news, but I see a lot of folks who've had spinal injections with minimal to zero pain relief.

Spine injections should not be given to adults with chronic back pain because they provide little or no pain relief compared with sham injections, say a panel of international experts in The BMJ .

02/05/2025

Apologies to everyone who was scheduled to come in on Wednesday 2/5/2025. In addition to the icy weather, I have come down with something - body aches, fever-chills, etc. I'd prefer not to pass this on to anyone, so we're cancelling appointments for today. Hopefully the ice melts and I feel better tomorrow.

01/09/2025

I wanted to let everyone know, our street has not yet been cleared. Whether you turn on E St Maartens or W St Maartens, you're going to have to come up a hill. Rear wheel drive cars/trucks are probably not going to make it. We've had two cancellations this morning for exactly this issue.

Front wheel drive or better will make it up the hill, but you have to go slow and stay in the ruts. Please give us a call or send us a text if you need to reschedule - 816-205-2542.

12/20/2024

Year end update part 2:

This is something I've been considering for a while now. The timing seemed right to go ahead and roll it in with our other changes for 2025.

Starting on January 7, 2025, we're going to be open on Tuesdays from 9AM to 6PM. Office hours going forward will be Tuesday-Friday 9AM to 6PM, Saturday 9AM to 4PM.

I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday season!

12/02/2024

It seems it is again time for my usual year end update.

First, I’d like to thank everyone who has come in to see me over the course of 2024. I appreciate every one of you.

This is our first full year in the new space. I think things are going very well. Business is stable, and I’m starting to think about the next big thing.

For the most part, we didn’t raise prices in 2024. Unfortunately, we’re going to have to raise prices by a little bit in 2025. For those who aren’t aware, I base everything on a 15-minute needle retention. Please note, that’s needle retention – how long a patient is resting with needles in place. The entire session is a little longer than the needle retention time. We pad the visit times behind the scenes to manage overlap as best we can. A typical 15-minute treatment runs 20-25 minutes, sometimes a bit longer if it’s a first visit.

Since 2023 a 15-minute session has been $30 with 30-minute, 45-minute, and 60-minute sessions costing a multiple of the 15-minute ($60, $90, and $120 respectively). In 2025, a 15-minute session will run $35 and the 30-, 45-, and 60-minute sessions will continue to be a multiple ($70, $105, and $140 respectively).

Contracts/memberships are a big part of my business. Patients seem to like them, and I have no plans to phase them out. In 2025 the membership price will be $85/month which is a $5 increase. The membership gives patients one treatment per week for the life of the membership (6 months or 12 months), that treatment can be anywhere from 15-60 minutes, and we’re still giving a $20 discount on a second treatment during the same week. One month of 30-minute sessions paying as you go would cost $280. The membership is $85/month, so the cost savings is pretty good. I still prefer to have patients who’ve never had acupuncture before come to two or three 15 minute sessions before deciding on a membership – acupuncture doesn’t work for everyone (no treatment is 100%) and I don’t like creating a multi-month commitment for either one of us if I’m not sure it’s going to benefit you.

30-minute consults for folks who want to meet and ask questions will continue to be free.

A reminder that we have a new office line and I’ll be turning off the old (913) number sometime in January. Please make sure you update your phones accordingly. As a side note, the office line change does not impact the number used to send appointment reminders via text. Text reminders come from the company that built and maintains my patient management software – they’re based in Boulder, CO which is why it’s a CO number.

Finally, we are going to adjust our Saturday hours for 2025. Most people are coming in the morning on Saturdays and by 2 or 3PM we don’t have much traffic. Currently we’re open until 6PM on Saturday. Starting in 2025 we’re going to close on Saturday at 4PM. This change does not affect any of the other days of the week we’re in the office – Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday will continue to be 9AM-6PM.

The office will be closed on Wednesday, December 25th as well as Wednesday, January 1st. We will be open the remainder of those weeks (Thursday-Saturday).

If you have any questions, please feel free to comment here with them, message me directly, or give the office a call/text/email.

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and has a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

11/17/2024

A randomized, controlled clinical trial conducted in the Duke University Hospital emergency department shows that providing acupuncture to treat acute musculoskeletal pain in addition to usual care is feasible even in this busy setting, and can reduce pain better than usual care alone.

11/13/2024

Reminder - the office will be closed this Friday, November 15th for a continuing education event.

Also, the week of Thanksgiving, the office will be open Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (11/25, 11/26, 11/27). We will be closed Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (11/28, 11/29, 11/30). The following week we return to our usual hours (9-6 Wednesday-Saturday from 12/4 on).