Naturopathic medicine gets a boost from Senate

[Guest guest]

BRATTLEBORO -- Health insurance plans would cover some services provided by

naturopathic physicians under a bill passed by the state Senate this week.

The bill, approved by a 25-2 margin, is being hailed by supporters as a

major step toward greater acceptance of a practice which some see as being

on the fringe of medicine.

Supporters also say the bill will save the state money. Naturopathic

medicine is preventive and practitioners say their methods are successful in

treating many long-term chronic conditions.

Dr. Clif Steinberg, who practices at the Sojourns Community Health Clinic in

Westminster, said if the bill passes it could help open his office door to

new patients.

" When people call for service the first question we hear is, 'Will my

insurance cover it?' " he said. " If this bill passes, we will be able to say,

'yes.' "

Naturopathic physicians are trained in both conventional and alternative

medicines. They must earn a four-year postgraduate doctorate to be licensed.

 

Vermont is one of the few states in the nation that offers licenses for

naturopaths. Only four other states -- Connecticut, Montana, Washington and

Alaska -- have laws that require insurance companies to cover naturopathic

care.

A study out of Washington shows that a similar law did not increase the

costs to that state or to the insurance companies, according to Vermont

state Sen. Hinda Miller, D-Chittenden, a sponsor of the bill.

Miller said the bill that passed the Senate only requires insurance

companies to cover those services in a naturopathic office that conventional

doctors perform as well.

Presently, when patients need services such as blood tests and Pap smears,

they are forced to go back to their general doctors if they want their

insurance to cover those procedures.

Miller said that by offering Vermonters the option to have those tests done

by their naturopath, the insurance companies would save money by eliminating

duplicate visits. She also said naturopaths are less likely to prescribe

drugs, which could add up to more savings.

She said the bill will move to a House committee next week.

Dr. Katherine Virkstis, a South Royalton naturopath who has been working to

pass the bill, said her group gathered more than 1,000 signatures in support

of the measure.

She also said she had doubts about the life of the bill, but after the

overwhelming bipartisan support in the Senate last week, she now believes it

may pass the House as well.

Naturopathy has been successful in treating diseases such as diabetes,

Virkstis said. Where a patient may need years of treatment and insulin with

a conventional doctor, through a naturopath prescription of diet and life

change, that same patient can find relief.

" The insurance companies will save money in the long run, " she said. " What

naturopathy does best is offer preventative care. We help people optimize

their health before they get sick. "

According to a study conducted by the Vermont Banking, Insurance and

Securities Health Care Administration, 76 percent of every health-care

dollar is spent on chronic illness.

" This bill will prevent short-term costs and provide long-term savings, "

said Dr. Lorilee Schoenbeck, spokeswoman for the Vermont Association of

Naturopathic Physicians.

Schoenbeck said the bill could open the door for naturopaths to assume a

greater role in discussing Vermont's health goals.

The state's health department has focused its Healthy Vermonters 2010

program around preventive care, and Schoenbeck said naturopathy should be a

part of that discussion.

" It is a loss for all Vermonters that we are not taking part in that

dialogue, " she said.

Dr. Laura Senes, who practices in Saxtons River, said that in the end, the

passage of this bill would benefit clients.

She said some people who do not want to go to a conventional doctor will put

off care, but if this bill passes, she predicts more people will receive the

care they need.

" When people ask about insurance I tell them that it is not that I do not

take insurance, but that insurance does not take me, " said Senes. " Our

license says we can do these things, but insurance says that we can't. This

gives us a fair chance. "

http://www.reformer.com/Stories/0,1413,102~8862~1970213,00.html

 

 

 

 

 

" There is no other door to knowledge than the door Nature opens. And there

is no truth but the truth we discover in Nature " .

Luther Burbank (1849-1926) Horticulturist