HB
181 is a bill that has passed the Idaho House that would
regulate naturopaths in the state of Idaho. The bill is now in
front of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee. The bill
dictates everything a naturopath can and can't do and
importantly requires that a person have attended one of only a
couple of naturopathic colleges. It also creates a new board to
regulate naturopaths.
A doctor I know in Boise who is an MD and a naturopath would
not be able to practice integrative medicine any longer because
she did not go to the right naturopathic college according to
the legislature. One of the problems with these regulatory
boards is that they can and do abuse their powers and this law
would mean that only the 20 or so Idaho naturopaths who trained
at the "right" school can continue practicing while all the
others could not. This abuse of powers is seen in Western
medical boards as well where doctors are threatened with having
their licenses withdrawn if they don't follow every edict of the
regulatory body like vaccines or drugs for kids.
Given that many folks choose a naturopath instead of an MD
and that regulation by the federal government has increased with
the Affordable care act it is not hard to envision a time when
naturopaths are not allowed to practice at all and the only
"medicine" that is approved by the government is Western
medicine.
If you like me, don't want to be restricted in the type of
medicine that you use in your family, it is important to stop
this bill.
Please call or email every member of the Senate Health and
Welfare committee to stop this bill. All I've written above can
be used as talking points.
Chair Lee Heider 332-1347
Vice Chair Fred Martin 332-1407
Patti Anne Lodge 332-1320
Sheryl L. Nuxoll 332-1355
Marv Hagedorn 332-1334
John H. Tippets 332-1429
Abby Lee 332-1325
Vice Chair Fred Martin 332-1407
Patti Anne Lodge 332-1320
Sheryl L. Nuxoll 332-1355
Marv Hagedorn 332-1334
John H. Tippets 332-1429
Abby Lee 332-1325
Dan Schmidt 332-1405
Maryanne Jordan 332-1352
lheider@senate.idaho.gov, fmar
jtippets@senate.idaho.gov, mjo
Following is the message my doctor in Boise sent out to all
her patients:
URGENT! PLEASE HELP!
The Idaho Legislature is considering the passage of HB181.
It has passed the House of Representatives. It is up
for review in the Senate today. This bill would make all
naturopathy the exclusive domain of the 20 or so naturopaths
that went to naturopathic college. I have my naturopathic
credentials from the American Naturopathic Medical Institute
but I did not attend a four year college of naturopathy. If
this passes, this means I would no longer be able to
practice integrative medicine.
More background from someone else:
Bill 181 comes down to licensing naturopaths. Some states license them and some don't. Idaho has not licensed in the past. Instead, they practice under the Smith Act which allows naturopaths to use other means besides prescription drugs (which is the very definition of naturopathy). Bill 181 wants to make it required that all naturopaths in the state of Idaho be licensed and that in order to be licensed they have to do whatever the Health and Welfare committee decides they must do to be licensed. We already know from the Health and Welfare committee (from previous attempts to push this bill through every year since 2007) that their licensing structure is that naturopaths must have attended 1 of 2 approved naturopathic schools in the US. Both of these schools are more homeopathic than naturopathic and are not only expensive but the degree is a 5 year degree. Instead of allowing naturopaths who already have degrees (from other schools) be grandfathered in, they would basically have to close their doors as naturopaths in Idaho and those who could afford to do so may choose to go and get the 5 year degree for naturopathy all over again. That is the main problem with it although there are others.
I should add that they would then be regulated to only practice naturopathy according to the approved methods from those schools. The Health and Welfare Committee would do the regulating and the woman heading it up has already stated her agenda (Kristy Perry is her name).
Leslie Manookian
leslie.manookian@me.com
They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.~ Benjamin Franklin
