Naturopathic Doctors Need Your Support
Help NDs secure a scope of practice that reflects their rigorous education and training. Allow NDs to be viable partners in health care - offering a continuum of care that reduces cost, reduces time waiting for appointments, and improves patient compliance and outcomes. Our interest is in people and in wellness for all of Colorado.Naturopathic doctors (NDs) are health care providers who are experts in the intersection of conventional practice and natural therapies. NDs emphasize prevention, wellness and optimal health, and encourage individuals’ inherent self-healing process. The practice of naturopathic medicine includes modern and traditional, scientific and empirical methods; combining the wisdom of nature with the rigors of modern science. In 2013, Colorado became the 17th state to provide legal recognition for NDs, along with the District of Columbia. There are now 26 states (and territories) that recognize and regulate Naturopathic Doctors.
The Naturopathic Doctor Practice Act in Colorado was a major victory for the field of naturopathic medicine, signaling a growing interest among Colorado lawmakers to support prevention-focused, reduced cost, and more accessible health care.
You can be a part of the movement to allow Colorado Naturopathic Doctors to practice in accordance with the scope and rigor of their extensive training. Allowing NDs to be a partner in providing safe, effective health care in Colorado opens up possibilities for reduced costs through preventative care and lower force interventions. If you have enjoyed better health through a Naturopathic Doctor, we want you to take a moment to let your legislator know that you want your ND to be able to practice to the full extent of their training. Find your legislator and write/call/email them to encourage education and a better understanding of what a ND does. For help, reference the CoAND Fact Sheet.
2024 Talking Points
NDs have a full, four-year, post-graduate Naturopathic medical school training including 82+ hours of pharmacology.
NDs must pass rigorous national licensure and board exams. Colorado NDs are required to participate in 25 hours of ongoing continuing education annually.
NDs provide preventative care across
communities, and especially in rural Colorado where it may be the only health care option in a small community.
In the United States: 26 jurisdictions, including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands all have laws regulating naturopathic doctors.
What We Need
Legislation to clarify the ND Practice Act to allow the Director of Professions at DORA to change the ND formulary by rule making, based upon recommendations of the already established ND Advisory Committee, as well as to allow an ND to practice to the extend of their rigorous, four-year, post graduate training, which includes more than 80 hours of pharmacology; including education about interactions and contraindications between pharmaceuticals and plants and herbal supplements, which are taken by more than 80 percent of the US population (according to WHO).
Learn what goes in to making a bill a law in Colorado
In 2022 the AMA spent more than $21 million on lobbying
Why is the American Medical Association (AMA) fighting against other health care providers being able, qualified, and willing to join in the fight for America’s health? That’s a good question. The AMA is one of the largest sources of lobbying expenditure in the United States. Since 1998, the AMA has spent between just under $15 million and almost $23 million annually on federal lobbying. In 2022, the AMA spent over $21 million on federal lobbying, the seventh most of any organization in the U.S.
Read this interesting article, written by Linn Wheeling, an employee of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians, as she explores the effort by AMA to shut out other licensed, registered, qualified, and monitored healthcare workers from entering the healthcare arena in order to provide healthcare options to a deserving public.