Is there any legitimacy to accupuncture?

[GUBU]

So, since I've started this job, this is something that I've wondered about.

I've been working in health insurance, doing pre-authorizatios; I get a lot of calls, setting up preauth for chiropractic care.  I had previously thought chiropractic care was all bunk.  Admittedly, some of it IS ridiculous and goes heavily into 'woo' territory.  But some of it seems to help.  And we usually seem to be able to cover that (or, at least, apply it to a deductable).  

But once in a while, I get a member calling about accupuncture.  Well, it's my job so I put in the preauthorization request for them and I've seen previous preauthorizations for accupuncture actually get approved.  This surprises me because I see a lot of treatments getting denied because they're "not medically necessary."  Based on what I've seen of it, I can't imagine accupuncture being medically necessary and this specific treatments effectiveness relies entirely on the placebo effect; giving them a sugar pill would do just as much good.  Does anyone know anything about this?

You get the same effect from acupuncture by sitting down with a cuppa tay and some biccies and speaking to somebody sympathetic.

Oh, and probably the main reason why the acupuncture is getting authorisation is because it is cheap (in the short term). Sticking needles in somebody costs less than giving them medicinal drugs or treatments, especially when you (i.e. the insurance company) don't have the pay the much bigger long term costs to the non-effective sham treatment.

There's a long rant I could go on about how insurance should be remutualised, but I won't rant today (Limerick are in the All-Ireland! so for the next few weeks I'm happy).