The clock just ran out.

Our bill got stuck in HES on the House side and Finance on the Senate side. Since this is the second half of the legislative season, we will have to start from scratch with a new legislative proposal next January if we are to continue attempting to expand our scope of practice. We have made valuable inroads to this process, but with a shortened legislative session, there was just not enough time to finish this process.

Thanks to everyone who has put there time and effort into expanding naturopathic medicine in Alaska.

Signing out for now,
Mary

Two down and one to go in the Senate

Thanks to the deft leadership of Senator Bettye Davis, our bill has cleared yet another hurdle, the HES committee. We should now go on to finance in the Senate and, if we clear that committee, we should be scheduled for a vote in the Senate. The major points of CSSB 107 and HB 363 are as follows:

1. The department (read Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development) will contract with a public or private agency for drug and alcohol treatment if someone from the board asks them to.
2. The Board has seven members that are appointed by the governor: 3 NDs, 1 pharm, 1 MD/DO and 2 public members. The rest is boiler plate.
3. Duties-the Department will investigate allegations of wrong doing. The Board will come up with a list of drugs to include in the formulary and the criteria for achieving a preacription endorsement and continuing education.
4. Scope-some problems here that I am hoping we can work out--specifically, it says you have to be in practice for five years before you can order a lab test or imaging (crazy). I think we can fix that. Secondly, 1200 hours of minor surgery supervised by an MD, DO, ANP or PA. I would like to see that changed to 100 procedures.
5. Prescription endorsement—I think this would be a good place to insert language excluding Schedule 2 controlled substances and chemotherapy. Other provisions are you have to have been in practice 5 years in order to qualify for Rx endorsement and minor surgery and you need a DEA number.
6. It goes into effect 7/1/2009.

For now we have Senate finance:

Co-Chair Lyman Hoffman (D) Bethel Senator_Lyman_Hoffman@legis.state.ak.us

C0-Chair Bert Stedman (R) Ketchikan Senator_Bert_Stedman@legis.state.ak.us

Vice-Chair Charlie Huggins (R) Wasilla Senator_Charlie_Huggins@legis.state.ak.us

Kim Elton (D) Juneau Senator_Kim_Elton@legis.state.ak.us

Donny Olson (D) Nome Senator_Donny_Olson@legis.state.ak.us

Joe Thomas (D) Fairbanks Senator_Joe_Thomas@legis.state.ak.us

Fred Dyson (R) Eagle River Senator_Fred_Dyson@legis.state.ak.us

It is also not too soon to think about the floor vote and educating anyone who is in the Senate who needs information on this bill. We are counting on you to do that.

Happy Rites of Spring,

Mary

We are changing direction

It was clear to those of us who were at the Senate HES committee meeting that the committee is not comfortable with the idea of the Alaska Naturopathic Council having an advisory role in the listing of medications included in the prescription medication formulary and the requirements for obtaining that endorsement, but no regulatory authority. We can see how that is confusing. We have taken the leap to ask that instead of the Alaska Naturopathic Council, we make it our licensing board. It is a big step but we think this is an appropriate next step.

Up until now we have been reluctant to go that far based on our experience in 2004. At that time we were advised by Rick Urien, then Director of the Department of Licensing, that the Murkowski administration was dead set against the formation of any boards. It was simply a non-starter. We just dropped the idea at that point. Now, the Murkowski administration is no more and Rick Urien is no longer in that role. We think the time is right and, if we get it passed, it means we will have more authority to regulate our own profession. We are coming of age.

Of course, time is ticking and there is just a month left in this legislative season. With that in mind, I am thinking it is a good time to have a conference call for anyone wanting to participate. I will set up a call for tomorrow at 5:30 pm unless I hear that another time would be good for you. Contact me at m2@gci.net .

Also, we cannot use letters of support for SB 107 in the packet for HB 363, even though they are companion bills. Please send letters of support for HB 363 to Christian in Representative Guttenberg's office at: christian_gou-leonhardt@legis.state.ak.us Of course you can keep those letters going to your local senator or representative.

I look forward to speaking with you.

Mary

Moving right along

We have a hearing scheduled for the Senate HES committee this Monday, March 10th, at 5:00pm. There will be no public testimony but if you want to submit written testimony, that can be included as part of the record, and if received in time, may be incorporated in the hearing packet to members. Send all written material to Don Burrell: (Don_Burrell@legis.state.ak.us , phone: 465-4906; fax: 465-3756). If you want to hear the procedings, you can always phone in at 1-888-295-4546. Ask to listen to the Senate HES hearing for CSSB 107. You can also send emails to the members directly if you want to be heard on this issue. We are starting to get serious pushback from the medical board--nothing we had not anticipated, we are just surprized that it took so long.

There have been a few small changes to the bill. In order to qualify for prescription endorsement, you have to have been licensed for five years, you need a DEA license and you have to go through whatever requirements the Alaska Naturopathic Council establishes. In order to perform minor surgery, you will need to have your license for five years and will need to be working under the supervision of an MD, an ANP or a PA for 1200 hours. Also, the council has gotten a little bigger--3 NDs, 1 pharm, 1 MD/DO and 2 public members. All of whom will be appointed by the governor. I don't see any deal breakers here.

If you want to send letters to me to have them for our collection, please send to me at: aknaturopath@hotmail.com

I look forward to reading them.

Warmly,
Mary

We are in the House!!

We have great news. David Guttenberg of Fairbanks is our bill's sponsor in the House and has introduced our bill-HB363. We have only two committees on the House side, HES and Finance. Now is a great time for your representative to hear from you. The first hearing will be HES and those members are:

Chair: Peggy Wilson (R) Wrangel
Rep.Peggy.Wilson@legis.state.ak.us

Vice Chair: Bob Roses (R) Anchorage
Rep_Bob_Roses@legis.state.ak.us

Anna Fairclough (R) Eagle River
Rep_Anna_Fairclough@legis.state.ak.us

Mark Neuman (R) Wasilla
Rep_Mark_Neuman@legis.state.ak.us

Paul Seaton (R) Homer
Rep_Paul_Seaton@legis.state.ak.us

Sharon Cissna (D) Anchorage
Rep_Sharon_Cissna@legis.state.ak.us

Berta Gardner (D) Anchorage
Rep_Berta_Gardner@legis.state.ak.us

On the Senate side, things are moving along. We had a hearing on Tuesday, February 12th. Our esteemed colleague Emily Kane really wowed the members of HES. There was the pushback we had anticipated from two MDs from the Alaska State Medical Association (ASMA). My sense from listening on the phone was that the committee members were respectful but underwhelmed by their testimony.

The questions raised here had to do with how members of the Alaska Natuorpathic Council (see the post January 18) would be selected (the governor or the Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing). We have recommended the latter but it certainly not a deal breaker. They also asked questions about the evidence of public harm in states that have had prescription writing authority, which we have good data on. They also had questions about what the limits of drugs for consideration would be. We have sent a responses along with data to the members. We will continue to do our best to move the conversation along. (To contact HES members, see post from January 27).

After HES, we are on to Finance:

Co-chair Lyman Hoffman (D) Bethel
Senator_Lyman_Hoffman@legis.state.ak.us

Co-chair Bert Stedman (R) Ketchikan
Senator_Bert_Stedman@legis.state.ak.us

Vice Chair Charlie Huggins (R) Wasilla
Senator_Charlie_Huggins@legis.state.ak.us

Kim Elton (D) Juneau
Senator_Kim_Elton@legis.state.ak.us

Donny Olson (D) Nome
Senator_Donny_Olson@legis.state.ak.us

Joe Thomas (D) Fairbanks
Senator_Joe_Thomas@legis.state.ak.us

Fred Dyson (R) Eagle River
Senator_Fred_Dyson@legis.state.ak.us

We can assume the pushback will get stronger as we get closer to the vote on the floor of the Senate and the House. If you have been holding back until now to let your voice be heard, this would be an excellent time to chime in.

Onward and upward,
Mary

We are out of Labor and Commerce!!

We have passed through Labor and Commerce on the Senate side. There were some questions that needed to be addressed after the last session (1/22/08). After some tweaking, there were enough committee members willing to pass our bill through to HESS. Johnny Ellis, the L&C Chair, also now Senate Majority Leader, was instrumental in getting this through. What can I say, the guy is awesome.

Specifically, we have one Alaska Naturopathic Council instead of the two committees (see posting from 1/15/2007). The ANC will consist of two NDs, two public members (one of whom may be an MD/DO) and a pharmacist. This group will do the legwork for the Department.

HESS members include:
Chair-Senator Bettye Davis (also our sponsor) Anchorage (D)
Senator_Bettye_Davis@legis.state.ak.us

V-Chair-Senator Joe Thomas Fairbanks (D)
Senator_Joe_Thomas@legis.state.ak.us

Senator John Cowdery Kenai (R)
Senator_John_Cowdery@legis.state.ak.us

Senator Kim Elton Juneau (D)
Senator_Kim_Elton@legis.state.ak.us

Senator Fred Dyson Eagle River (R)
Senator_Fred_Dyson@legis.state.ak.us

I will keep you posted on the date and time we will be in HESS. If anyone out there can testify on our behalf, they need to hear from you. If there is more information you need, please use this site for a discussion. We want to hear from you.

Mary

Legislative trip-1/15/2008

Dr. Emily Kane and I had a productive trip to Juneau. Our objectives were to be available to answer questions, if there were any, when our bill came up in Labor and Commerce on Senate Bill 107. As you will recall, last April when our bill was first introduced in this committee, we were a little blind-sided when the Director of Licensing, Rick Urien, came out against us because he thought we were, "creating a board without having a board" or words to that effect. In the interim, both Scott Luper and Emily Kane tried to see if we could craft a bill he would support-to no avail.

We decided to drop the "advisory council" which, we assumed, was the sticking point for him. Those of us who met with Rick four years ago remember that the "advisory" council was his idea initially but, time marches on, memories fade and it certainly was not a deal-breaker as far as we were concerned. I met with the Committee Chairman Senator Johnny Ellis in August, 2007 to tell him we wanted to drop that part of the bill. After that, I worked with Senator Ellis' very capable staffer, Dana Olson, to write a "committee substitute" bill aka "CS SB 107". The gist of it is this; we morphed the "formulary committee" and the "naturopathic advisory council" into the "Alaska Naturopathic Council". This would consist of three NDs, one pharmacist and a public member-who could be an MD. Our thinking here is that the two professions most affected by this legislation are NDs and pharmacists. Those are the two groups that should have a seat at the table. If the medical board wants representation, that can be accommodated without it being a deal-breaker if they want nothing to do with it. They are invited to the dance but it is their call.

The duties of the Alaska Naturopathic Council include coming up with a formulary, reviewing that list annually, meet at the request of the Department of Licensing (DOL) to advise on allegations of misconduct, advise the DOL on education requirements for "prescription endorsements" and advise on anything else having to do with our licensing and regulations. This way, if we need to update our regulations, we can do that without going through the legislative process all over again.

Our hearing at L&C got bumped to Tuesday, 1/22/08. They are not accepting public testimony but they will allow expert testimony.

Rick Urien has resigned from the DOL for health reasons. His replacement is Mark Davis-and the DOL is now called the Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing. I placed a call to him and he handed it off to Jenifer Strickler, Chief of Licensing. When I spoke with her, she had indicated that she was not intending to testify in opposition to SB 107 but that they did have "concerns" about the two committees and because the medical board opposes it (I'm shocked! Shocked!) I have sent her the updated bill (which was not on line yet because it had not been introduced into L&C). I also asked her if it would be helpful to see our White Paper, the report from the Alaska State Legislature Division of Legal and Research Services and a head to head study comparing the University of Washington Medical School and Bastyr University Naturopathic Program-she said yes to all three. I also slipped in an article on the Carnegie Foundation's recommendation to the US Department of Education in 2005 that ND schools be given equal footing with MD schools. [Side note-yes, that would be the same Carnegie Foundation that sponsored the infamous 1910 Flexner Report-a complete 180 in only 95 years! But I digress...]

We are still on the hunt for a sponsor on the House side. That would streamline things for us. Otherwise, it would have to go through the Senate side before it got referred to the House to start the committee process all over again. In a 90 day session, that is a big order. Since our hearing got bumped, we took advantage of the time we had available to chat up some prospects, but as yet we have no takers.

If you have letters of support that we can add to our collection, please let me know. Legislators love to know how their constituents feel about this.

Onward and upward,
Mary A Minor, ND