What we must do now is secure salary recognition
What we must do now is secure salary recognition for the depth of work, effort, and expertise we bring to our members and patients through every visit, conversation, and intervention. We deserve to be economically valued — not paid a poverty wage — for advancing lifestyle medicine and delivering the kind of care that actually changes lives.
It is time to explore, promote, and politically support emerging payment policies that strengthen evidence‑based lifestyle interventions, team‑based care, shared medical appointments (SMAs), health coaching, and innovative approaches to chronic disease prevention and treatment. Federal payment policy is already shifting toward reimbursing lifestyle medicine, team‑based care, and health coaching — including new billable codes, expanded value‑based models, and formal recognition of nutrition and physical‑activity assessment. These changes create a concrete basis for demanding salary alignment with the true value we deliver.
Health coaching and lifestyle medicine are consistently more effective than routine care alone. They empower individuals to create sustainable, meaningful health changes while advancing equity, resilience, and culturally responsive practice. Our work is essential to the future of healthcare — and our compensation should reflect that reality.
Health coaching and lifestyle medicine are consistently more effective than routine care alone.