When Should Integrative Physicians Get Interested in Politics?

© Copyright By Bruce H. Shelton, M.D., M.D.(h)., DiHom, FBIH, USA

Ronald Reagan asked a very interesting question when he was campaigning for president in 1980; Are you better off now than when you were four years ago? The question of course was asked at the end of Jimmy Carter’s presidency when interest rates had peaked at 17.5% for a Home mortgage and among other factors earned him his momentous 8 year stay in the Oval office as people clearly weren’t better off under such severe economic conditions and voted him into office.

We again can ask a similar question regarding the state of Integrative Medicine; Are regulations regarding Integrative Medicine better now than they were eight years ago? The answers can be codified by looking at some simple facts.

1. Medicare and most major third party payers didn’t than and still don’t now cover most integrative Procedures
2. In 2002 the CLIA division of the FDA outlawed the use of Dark Field Microscopy and the First machines that measured BioTerrain Analysis
3. CODEX has been signed into law through the CAFTA bill and threatens to make Vitamins and Nutritional Substances Prescription needed substances
4. The President has outlawed the use of Stem Cells
5. The Supreme Court now has a Majority that has a strong probability to overturn Roe v Wade
6. Two of the three states (Arizona and Nevada) that license MD Homeopaths have had strong challenges made against their Homeopathic Statutes with Final outcomes still pending
7. In spite of the fact that more than 50% of Americans use Integrative techniques, less than 2% of American M.D.s and D.O.s learn or understand Integrative techniques
8. Most Integrative practice is done by other than M.D.s ,D.O.s, D.C.s, N.D.s, LAcs and an increasing amount of “spiritual” lay personnel
9. The American Medical Association has created rules limiting the use of the Internet to deliver Integrative care
10. Natural BioIdentical Hormone use is being fought by the Pharmaceutical Industry
11. Physicians who understand Natural Cancer therapies are under increasing Investigation by State Medical Boards
12. Individual Doctors in numerous states are still under severe Administrative Attack that can break them financially
13. Third Party Insurance Payers do not cover Integrative Care even in states where forms of Integrative care is legal
14. Only a handful number of Hospitals allow Integrative Care to be practiced by their staff
15. None of the major Presidential Candidates openly embrace Integrative Health Care

When Integrative Physicians look out at the political landscape, what do we see?

Which candidates will tell their FDA administrator to not hire committee and board members that don’t work for major Pharmaceutical companies and to not discriminate against Integrative practices?

Which candidates will add Integrative techniques to their all inclusive health care proposals?

Which candidates are more likely to realize that Integrative Medicine actually reduces the cost of healthcare and contain numerous financially feasible ideas.

Are Americans healthier and more physically fit than they were 8 years ago?

Are people happier than they were 8 years ago?

Are our Grand Children facing a healthier world future than our children were a generation ago? Integrative Practitioners for the most part are not political activists and do not reach out to their elected representatives and/or candidates to make their presence or knowledge known out of fear that by bringing attention to themselves they will possibly face embarrassing publicity and legal expenses that they aren’t insured for that can cost them their assets and standing in the community. Perhaps however the time has come to speak as a group through associations and journals such as EXPLORE in order to let the politicians know that Americans who are in fact the constituents whose votes the politicians need to stay in office. The time to speak out is now!

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