NYANP TALKING POINTS
FREEDOM OF CHOICE

People should be free to choose the healthier option of naturopathic medicine.
Please, do what you can to license naturopathic doctors in New York this session!
FREEDOM OF CHOICE TO LIVE & WORK IN MY HOME STATE

Naturopathic doctors are licensed in 18 states, but not New York. How can it be
that this affordable healthcare option that focuses on preventing illness and
restoring health isn’t licensed in New York? As a result of this, I'm having to
travel out of New York state, to Connecticut, New Hampshire, or Arizona to receive
the type of health care I want and need. That’s bad for our economy, bad for our
health, bad for New York. Please, fix this!
SHORTAGE OF PRIMARY HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS

There is a shortage of health care providers in New York - and I believe you
should license naturopathic doctors to help fill that void. They have the training
and the ability to deliver high quality natural healthcare to patients who want their
health back instead of getting stuck on a lifetime of expensive prescriptions.
CHRONIC DISEASE

Our health care system has to change the emphasis from treating chronic illness
to preventing it. I certainly want to prevent diabetes, heart disease and cancer for
me and my family, but I don't have access to the kind of doctors who have the
most training in prevention - naturopathic doctors. Can you please help me
change that?
SPEAKING AS A PATIENT OF A NATUROPATHIC DOCTOR

I've been working with a naturopathic doctor in New York who is licensed in
Connecticut and Vermont, and my health has certainly improved. I'm no longer
needing to take medications and I'm able to go back to work. However, my
naturopathic doctor is not able to order the tests that I need to monitor my health
even though she is trained to do those tests. So I have to go to several other
practitioners and pay co-pays just to get the tests I need. It would be so much
better if my naturopathic doctor could be licensed in NY to do what she is
licensed to do in other states.
CREDIBILITY

The US Senate passed a resolution last October that said: “The legislature supports
the findings in U.S. Senate Resolution 221 of the 113th Congress that naturopathic
doctors are skilled in preventing and treating chronic disease; that naturopathic medicine
is a safe, effective, and affordable means of health care; and that licensure of
naturopathic doctors helps address the shortage of primary care physicians in the United
States, while also providing consumers with more choice in health care.”
PATIENTS to Tell Their Story

I was at the end of my rope regarding a difficult medical condition. I tried
everything my MD recommended, and things kept getting worse. I learned about
naturopathic medicine and decided to give it try, since I no longer had anything to
lose. And guess what? I got my health back. Isn’t that a choice that all New
Yorkers should be free to make? Please license naturopathic doctors in New York
for the sake of the sick amongst us.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Thanks for your representation, please support bill #
Here is my story and how I was helped by naturopathic medicine
I want choice
Please support bill #
MD TO WRITE LETTER OF SUPPORT
 As a medical doctor, my first interest is my patients. Many of my patients have
had success in chronic conditions using natural medicine therapeutics as an
adjunct to my treatments. I have no training in this, but I know that Naturopathic
doctors do. The lack of a licensing bill for naturopathic doctors does a grave
disservice to healthcare consumers of New York both from a health standpoint as
well as safety. Licensed naturopathic doctors must go to a 4 year naturopathic
medical school where they are taught scientific, evidence based natural medicine
with a heavy focus on prevention

I am writing to you today as a medical doctor frustrated by the lack of healthier
medical options for my patients. I help my patients to manage and tame their
symptoms. But naturopathic doctors have a different kind of training, focused on
helping patients get their health back rather than managing the symptoms of their
illness. I’m writing to ask for you to support licensure for this prevention focused
profession, and to give New Yorkers this well deserved choice.

<Write your personal experience> I have worked with a naturopathic doctor in
<such and such> capacity. I have found them to be < blah > and < blah>.
STATISTICS
With 70% of healthcare dollars being spent on we scientifically know is chronic
preventable disease, naturopathic doctors fill an important gap in the healthcare
timeline with a focus on prevention and wellness.
It’s a fact that 70% of US healthcare dollars are spent on chronic disease which
science says is preventable. It shouldn’t be that way, and doesn’t need to
continue down the road of waste and sickness. Naturopathic doctors fill an
important gap in the healthcare system, because their medicine is focused on
preventing illness and restoring health.
NDs to Write Their Legislator

Like you, I love New York! And as a naturopathic physician by training, I’d love to
practice in New York and serve my fellow New Yorkers. Problem is, as things now
stand I cannot do this. But you can do something to change that, by licensing
naturopathic doctors to practice in New York in this session. Thank you for your
consideration.

You can take the New Yorker out of New York to go to naturopathic medical
school, but you can’t take the New Yorker back to New York to practice. Without a
naturopathic licensing law in NY I can’t come home and contribute to the health of
New Yorkers. I have made my practice in the licensed state of <name of state>, but
I would come home to support the health of New Yorkers if there was a licensing
law.
ND Student Writing Their Legislator

My preference is to pay back my student loans while working in my home state at
what I am trained and qualified to do.

I’m a naturopathic medical student, and with your help, I’m hoping to practice in
my home state after graduation, earn a good living and pay off my student loans.
Please do what you can to license naturopathic doctors in New York in this
session.

You can take the New Yorker out of New York to go to naturopathic medical
school, but you can’t take the New Yorker back to New York to practice. Without a
naturopathic licensing law in NY I can’t come home and contribute to the health of
New Yorkers. I may have to settle for practicing in California, or Hawaii or ugh
Connecticut.

Say it ain’t so.