New York State Bill

A01370 Summary:

BILL NO    A01370

SAME AS    Same as S 1930

SPONSOR    Hoyt

COSPNSR    Ortiz, Greene, Englebright, Cahill, Cymbrowitz, Bradley, Christensen,
           Rivera N, McEneny, Espaillat, Destito, Lentol, Alfano, Alessi,
           Benedetto, Powell, Gunther, Fields

MLTSPNSR   Arroyo, Barra, Benjamin, Bing, Boyland, Boyle, Brennan, Butler,
           Calhoun, Camara, Conte, Cook, Cusick, Diaz, Dinowitz, Eddington,
           Farrell, Gordon, Hevesi, Jacobs, Koon, Lifton, Lupardo, Mayersohn,
           Molinaro, Paulin, Peoples, Pretlow, Quinn, Ramos, Reilly, Rivera J,
           Rivera P, Scarborough, Schimel, Stirpe, Titus, Towns, Weisenberg,
           Wright, Zebrowski

Add Art 132-A SS6575 - 6584, Ed L; amd SS1203, 1207 & 1301, Lim Lil L; amd
SS121-1500 & 121-1502, Partn L; amd S413, Soc Serv L

Regulates the practice of naturopathic medicine; establishes a state board for
naturopathic medicine; establishes requirements to receive a limited permit in
naturopathic medicine; establishes mandatory continuing competency for
naturopaths; requires licensed naturopaths to report suspected child abuse.
     
BILL NUMBER:A1370

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the education law, the limited liability
company  law  and  the  partnership  law, in relation to the practice of
naturopathy; and to amend the social services law, in  relation  to  the
reporting of child abuse

PURPOSE:
The bill relates to the licensing of naturopathic doctors.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
A  new  Article 132-A is added to the Education Law to establish naturo-
pathic doctors as licensed professionals in New York State.

JUSTIFICATION:
Currently, in New York State there are no regulations  for  naturopathy.
Anyone  can call themselves a naturopathic doctor, even if they finished
a home study course in as little as six weeks. Licensing will offer  the
public  a  way  to find qualified naturopaths who perform this important
aspect of complementary and integrative medicine. Doctors of naturopathy
are trained to prescribe the right supplement and to ensure that danger-
ous combinations of  natural  and  allopathic  products  are  not  taken
together.  Clinical  training  of naturopaths stresses understanding the
interaction between conventional prescription  medications  and  natural
therapies  such  as  herbs and/or vitamin supplements to greater degrees
than any other profession.

Naturopaths use standard medical diagnostic techniques and treat disease
with natural  medicines  and  therapies  including  clinical  nutrition,
botanical  medicine,  homeopathy, lifestyle counseling, and naturopathic
physical medicine.  Naturopathic  doctors  also  have  the  training  to
prescribe certain medications when they are indicated.

Naturopaths  are  currently  licensed  in  Alaska,  Arizona, California,
Connecticut, Hawaii,  Idaho,  Kansas,  Maine,  Montana,  New  Hampshire,
Oregon, Utah, Vermont, Washington D.C., Washington State, as well as the
territories of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

To be licensed as a Naturopath and use one of the titles associated with
Naturopathy a person needs, among other requirements, to have received a
doctoral  diploma  from a registered school of Naturopathic Medicine and
have satisfactorily completed an approved clinical  post-graduate  resi-
dency training of an approved program with five years of clinical super-
vision  of not less than 12 months in duration and pass a national exam-
ination.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
1/9/08 A.4966 referred to higher education

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None. All costs associated with the  creation  of  this  new  profession
would be recovered through filing and registration fees.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This  act  shall  take  effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it
shall have become a law; provided however, that  effective  immediately,
the  addition,  amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation neces-
sary for the implementation of  this  act  on  its  effective  date  are
authorized  and directed to be made and completed by the commissioner of
education and the board of regents on or before such effective date.