Alternative Medicine One Step Closer to Respect

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New Bill Reflects a New Attitude Towards Holistic Practices
Columbus, OH – May 19, 2005 – Alternative medicine comes one step closer to being a respected, legal profession in Ohio with the introduction of the Ohio Consumer Health Freedom bill.

The Ohio Consumer Health Freedom Bill, House Bill 117 and Senate Bill 98, is currently in Committee in the Ohio Statehouse. Testimony for the bill ran April 5, 2005 to a packed hearing room in front of the Commerce & Labor Committee. Eighteen people testified how alternative medicine had helped them heal after Western medicine had failed them.

This bill promises to create a new legal environment for alternative health practitioners who do not hold a state license. Currently, these tens of thousands of practitioners are operating illegally, according to the letter of Ohio law. This bill gives them legal recognition and puts parameters and limitations on what they can and cannot do.

Practitioners affected by this bill include alll those who operate without a state license, including, but not limited to: polarity therapists, reflexologists, aromatherapists, naturopaths, nutritionists, Indian ayurvedic practitioners, reiki masters, homeopaths, Healing Touch practitioners and shiatsu therapists.

This bill does not affect the practices of licensed medical practitioners, such as MDs, DOs, chiropractors, massage therapists, dietitians, physical therapists or acupuncturists.

“This bill is long overdue,” said Daryl Kulak, President of the Health Freedom Coalition of Ohio, the group in favor of this bill. “These practitioners have been helping hundreds of thousands of Ohioans every year, and yet they must operate under a cloak of fear, because the medical boards could shut them down any minute. It’s necessary to give all Ohioans a choice in their healthcare and keep government out of the business of restricting healthcare choices.”

“I believe this bill will be great for the Ohio economy,” said David Cunningham, CEO of the Ohio Academy of Holistic Health in Xenia. “Once these practitioners can do their healing work freely and without harassment, they will generate jobs and make an incredible contribution to the economy.”

The bill is currently in the House Commerce & Labor Committee. A companion bill has been introduced into the Senate (S.B.9 and hearings for it will commence shortly.

From Healthy.net