The American Association of Naturopathic Physicians Encourages Transformation in Legislation

The landmark healthcare reform bill signed by President Obama in March of this year will provide coverage to an estimated 30 million people who currently lack it. The American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP) is encouraged by the passing of this new bill and sees it as an opportunity to advance AANP’s vision: to transform the healthcare system from a disease management system to a comprehensive health program incorporating the principles of naturopathic medicine. By building relationships with legislators, their staffs, and regulatory agencies, AANP is leading the way for individual access to naturopathic medicine.

 

AANP Executive Director Karen Howard explains that currently, federal regulations do not encourage patients to seek out naturopathic caregivers, and AANP’s goal is to change this. “Right now what you see is the feds not utilizing services of many of these providers who are qualified to provide primary care, and that’s where we focus our relationships that we build,” she says.

 

Founded in 1985, AANP is the national professional society representing licensed or licensable naturopathic physicians who are graduates of four-year, residential graduate programs. With 42 official State Affiliates across the country, the Washington, DC-headquartered organization has more than 2,000 members who collectively aim to expand access to naturopathic medicine nationwide.

 

“The overarching goal of the AANP is to help people experience optimal health and wellness through the principles and practice of naturopathic medicine,” says Howard. “We are highly committed to our members in terms of enabling them to reach a broader-base audience so that the number of people who actually know about and utilize naturopathic medicine continues to grow, and so that they can also be highly successful practitioners in this ever-changing environment,” she continues.

 

The 25-year-old organization has focuses in a variety of different areas. At the forefront of AANP’s mission are the goals of promoting naturopathic medicine state and federal levels, as well as engaging in other advocacy efforts. “We are working on Capitol Hill to educate policy makers on the relationship between integrative medicine and naturopathic medicine, how those two relate, and what we think is the appropriate terminology moving forward so that we can really change the status of healthcare” notes Howard. She adds that AANP does not want to simply add to the “current bevies of skills and tools, which are really all about treating symptoms and not really getting at the root and core of disease.”

 

With so many different coalitions and organizations invested in the outcome of what integrative healthcare and integrative medicine can look like in the future, AANP’s goal, according to Howard, “is to be in dialogue with as many of those organizations as possible so that we can begin to build consensus around these issues, which will then make it easier for legislators, policy makers, and regulators at both the federal and state levels to be able to add significantly to the workforce.” She also explains that the number of providers is important, but equally significant is how these providers actually work inside these general statebased programs that will determine the impact and success of integrative healthcare in the lives of individuals.

 

Howard suggests that the new healthcare bill provides some interesting opportunities for AANP and integrative medicine in general. “It’s as though there’s been a new blueprint for a new infrastructure that has been created, should people want to take that opportunity to actually build the new house,” she says. “I think right now it’s giving new language and new voice to the possibility of doing true healthcare reform instead of insurancebased reform, and I think that AANP is well positioned to play a role in that.

 

“The beauty of AANP is that the naturopathic principles and philosophy really mirror what integrative medicine is looking to become,” Howard explains. At the core of naturopathic medicine is the patient’s overall well-being; it’s all about the patient, not the patient’s symptoms. And, notes Howard, “Naturopathic doctors’ training to eliminate barriers to health is really, we believe, at the forefront of what integrative medicine can be in this country.”

 

To serve our members by advancing the profession of naturopathic medicine and preserving its integrity.

 

To transform the healthcare system from a disease management system to a comprehensive health program incorporating the principles of naturopathic medicine. We believe that every American has the right to choose a naturopathic doctor and every naturopathic doctor has the opportunity to be a successful practitioner.