A Clear And Present Danger
Dear friends and practitioners of the Ayurvedic professions:
Many of you have heard about the Naturopathic Doctor Bill, HB11-1173 currently scheduled to enter committee on March 1. I write this letter on behalf of COLORAMA, the Colorado Ayurvedic Medical Association, to apprise you of recent developments, concerns we have, and action steps you can take to protect the public’s access to natural and alternative therapies in the State of Colorado.
COLORAMA’s Mission is to protect and promote the interests of participants, educators and practitioners of Ayurveda in the State of Colorado. In this case we are engaging in this legal issue, not just on behalf of all Ayurvedic professionals which would include Practitioners, Diet & Lifestyle Educators, Yoga Teachers, Jyotishis, Doulas, Pancha Karma Specialists, Herbalists, etc. — this bill if passed, could affect all Alternative Practitioners and their clients in Colorado. Estimates put the number of practitioners at well over ten thousand, which means the total number of people receiving alternative and natural therapy could be in the millions. An indication of the scope of this economy of unconventional therapy is indicated by a ten year old study, which concluded that:
The estimated number of visits made in 1990 to providers of unconventional therapy was greater than the number of visits to all primary care medical doctors nationwide, and the amount spent out of pocket on unconventional therapy was comparable to the amount spent out of pocket by Americans for all hospitalizations. [1]
It is no secret there is some acrimony between two factions that would like to use the term “Naturopathic Doctor”. This is not our fight. If HB11-1173 were just a ‘titling bill’ that regulated who could use a particular title, there would be no problem from the perspective of COLORAMA. Supporting “Naturopathic Doctors” with four year training to create a licensing program might be good for alternative and natural therapies in Colorado, so long as there is no complication for other professions. The problem is that this bill, as written, specifies a protected scope of practice, a set of activities, that only licensed ND’s can do. There is an exemption section, but it is vague and unclear, and this is the point of concern for those legally practicing their arts, such as giving nutritional advice, offering yoga therapy, practicing under an MD’s supervision, or should they wish to, pursue licensing in the future. For those in the grey area of an overly broad definition of what constitutes ‘the practice of medicine’ there would now be a financial incentive for a legally protected group to file complaints against and thereby put their competition out of business, if not now, sometime in the future. Furthermore, should a licensed practice with this incredibly broad scope of practice be established, there could be a clear legal path for regulating agencies to proceed against all manner of health practitioners.
Because the Naturopathic Doctors we know and are friends with claim to be pursuing licensure with no intention to hurt other alternative health care practitioners, COLORAMA is tendering an ‘olive branch’ to the ND’s, the Fair Access Amendment to HB11-1173 (available at COLORAMA's website). This amendment follows the Ayurvedic principle of ‘removing the cause’. If adopted and left intact, we believe that the Fair Access Amendment would transform HB11-1173 into a titling act. At this time there is no guarantee the amendment will be incorporated into the law as it comes into committee, and in the next weeks, should it move into chambers, there is no guarantee the amendment will remain intact as other changes to the law could eliminate its effects.
Thus, on an emergency basis, we request that you take several concrete action steps:
1) Contact your clients and ask that they alert their representatives on the Health and Environment Committee, letting them know that access to a full range of alternative and natural therapies in Colorado is VERY important to you, and to please ensure either the Fair Access Amendment is included and its purpose is left intact, or that this bill is rejected, because as written, it presents a clear and present danger for alternative and natural therapies in Colorado.
2) Forward this letter to colleagues, yoga studios, clinics, and friends.
3) Do yourself what we ask your clients to do. Note the contact list at the end of this letter. This is an important investment of your time.
4) Please come to the capitol and participate in an organized presentation, to challenge this clear and present danger for alternative and natural therapies in Colorado. We will meet in the cafeteria at 9am. Plan to spend the whole day, as these things have their own schedule.
Please come to the Capitol, email or call your Representatives regarding
HB11-1175 which will make alternative medicine illegal for 16,000 practitioners
to practice in Colorado. Please forward this email onto everyone you know so
anyone who might want to can attend. People being there is always the most
beneficial. Also, telephone calls, emails or faxes are extremely important
even if you plan to attend the committee hearing. Not everyone will speak
during committee so it's important to tell them beforehand.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
9:00 am - until hearing is over
House bill 1173 is scheduled to be heard in front of the Health Environment
Committee on Tuesday, March 1, 2011 upon adjournment of the Floor. The house
can adjourn anywhere from 9:15 to 11:30 am. We will be meeting in the Capitol
cafeteria in the basement at 9:00 am to go over strategy. You might have to be
there all day long, please arrange your schedule for that. The meeting will be
in the Legislative Services Building right behind the Capitol. For those who don't
know where that is, we can all walk over together. Please arrange to have the day offso that you can attend. We need a strong audience up there to help us on
this bill.
5) Monitor legal status of this and other issues pertinent to our professions: visit www.coloradoayurveda.org and select the ‘Legal’ tab. We will post updates and information as it becomes available, including documents you can download for easy faxing and e-mailing to legislators.
6) If you are interested, you can become part of the COLORAMA legal action committee. Contact varadaan AT comcast.net or core AT coloradoayurveda.org . Members only please.
7) Support COLORAMA! We really need your financial support. Consider Membership and/or Sponsorship. Supporting membership is just $50. Visit www.coloradoayurveda.org for details.
Thank you, on behalf of the entire COLORAMA Board of Directors, acting as a unanimous body,
Ben Lipman (Varadaan),
President
Colorado Ayurvedic Medical Association
Important!
Please do contact your legislators in the Health and Environment Committee:
Representative Ken Summers: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 303-866-2927
Representative Cindy Acree: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .us 303-866-2944
Rep. Laura Bradford: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 303-866-2583
Rep. Paul J. Brown: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 303-866-2914
Rep. Rhonda Fields: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 303-866-3911
Rep. Janak Joshi: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 303-866-2937
Rep. James Kerr: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 303-866-2939
Rep. Massey: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 303-866-2747
Rep. McCann: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 303-866-2959
Rep. Peniston: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 303-866-5522
Rep. S. Schafer: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 303-866-2843
Rep. Jim Riesberg: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 970-576-6544
Staff Contact: Kelly Stapleton This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Phone: 303 866-4789 Fax: 303-866-2167
We offer a consolidated list of e-mail addresses at the end of this letter.
Notes on writing your letters:
It is best to write your own letter about why it is important to you to keep the discussion of folk healing and harmless remedies in the public domain.
Start your letter or email with Dear Representative ____________;
Put this title in plain view, large type and in the subject line of your e-mail:
RE: NO on HB 1173
(Also, Jan Kirchner is offering to fax your letters for you, if you send her an e-mail attachment: Janice Kerschner <myherblady AT msn.com>. She is not part of our organization, but has made the kind offer. However, if you have access to your own equipment, it is likely to have more impact.)
[1] Unconventional Medicine in the United States -- Prevalence, Costs, and Patterns of Use
David M. Eisenberg, Ronald C. Kessler, Cindy Foster, Frances E. Norlock, David R. Calkins, and Thomas L. Delbanco. N Engl J Med 1993; 328:246-252. Link: January 28, 1993, THE NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE
Consolidated list of e-mail addresses:
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