A social transformation is taking place in American health care. It started as more and more people (now millions) began to spend out-of-pocket dollars (now billions) on what has come to be called complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Policymakers in both government and health care began to take notice of this groundswell of interest. Some of them are simply watching and waiting to see what happens next, whereas others are actively supporting change. Most interestingly, growing numbers of physicians have begun to take courses on therapies that stood outside the norms of medicine throughout the 20th century, even though some had been used for millenia. These physicians want to learn more about what their patients are trying to convey to them – how healing is as important to health care as curing. Insurance companies are also hearing the sounds of consumer interest and slowly responding to market demand. For its part, government has done more than listen to people who are using alternative medicine. Congress, the National Institutes of Health, and the White House have each recognized that the government must respond to impending changes in health care by, in this instance, fulfilling its obligation to assess the safety and efficacy of products that heretofore have existed in a totally unregulated private market. Millions of dollars are being devoted to scientific research that is paving the way for further consideration of regulatory measures.