Florida Health Freedom Action Bill

[Guest guest]

I found the following post on another list, and it is pretty scary, IMO. I

don't check that list often, so the dates are old, but I intend to follow

up and see what happened with the vote asap. It's the second part, about

bill 1615 that is the scary part. Bill 1301 sounds good.

 

--

I'm writing from the Florida Health Freedom Action about HB 1301, the

Florida Consumer Health Freedom Act.

 

The Florida Health Freedom Action is a non-profit social change and

lobbying organization, working to change Florida laws to provide

better health care access and practitioner protection.

 

The The Consumer Health Freedom Act would: Remove blocks to

consumers' right to choose complementary and alternative

therapies (CATH) practitioners whose modalities and practices do not

meet the statutory requirements for licensure.

Protect CATH consumers by setting practice boundaries for CATH

practitioners.

 

Enhance consumer choices by requiring CATH practitioners to provide

information about themselves and their practices.

 

Facilitate communication between practitioners of CATH and licensed

health care providers.

 

More information can be found at www.FloridaHealthFreedom.org

 

Our lobbyist and attorneys will meet with members of the House of

Representatives' Health Care Committee this coming Monday and

Tuesday, March 17 & 18, to ask them to support our bill.

 

It is critical that these legislators know that this bill is

important to you, the voters.

 

Strong and well funded opposition to our bill is being led by the

" Naturopathic Physicians " (NPs). The NPs are seeking to create a

licensed profession in Florida which will combine both conventional

medicine and naturopathy (natural healing). They are changing

what has defined the practice of naturopathy for decades

(natural healing methods involving

plants)-- adding prescription drugs, insisting that they are still

practicing naturopathy, and declaring that no other practitioner may

use that term to describe natural healing methods.

 

Under their bill, HB 1615, NPs would have the exclusive right to use

natural health care remedies, such as herbs and homeopathic remedies.

The NPs want to keep unlicensed CATH practitioners off of " their

turf. " Giving the NPs a

monopoly on natural healing methods will put natural healing

practitioners out of business, and drive up the cost of natural

healing to consumers by requiring them to go to licensed Naturopaths

for natural healing services.

 

Your message will be most effective if it is received on Monday or

Tuesday. For this reason, please call first. If you are willing, a

letter is also

important. It will take just 5 minutes of your time to make a call or

write a letter. 10 minutes to do both!

 

It is essential that members of the House Health Care Committee hear

that the Consumer Health Freedom Act HB 1301 is important to you. If

a Representative does not receive a sufficient number of contacts

from voters, it is possible that he or she may vote against our bill.

It is equally important that they know that you want them to vote

against HB 1615, the Naturopathic Physicians' bill, because

of their effort to claim a monopoly on natural healing

methods and the overlap their bill creates between

natural healing methods (naturopathy) and conventional medical care

which involves drugs and surgery.

--http://member.newsguy.com/~herblady

©

[Guest guest]

I dont see why Naturopaths cant be licensed and still have the health

freedom bill?!?

I do think that Naturopaths( which are physicians) should be able to define

themselves apart from other alternative practitioners. But Opposition?

Criminy...

Massage therapists are licensed in Florida, right? It seems there is not a

conflict of interest there...

hmmmm.

Michelle