04/08/2019 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE

             HB 91-NATUROPATHS: LICENSING; PRACTICE                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
4:51:33 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR LEDOUX announced that the  final order of business would                                                               
be  HOUSE BILL  NO.  91,  "An Act  relating  to  the practice  of                                                               
naturopathy; relating  to the licensure of  naturopaths; relating                                                               
to   the  Department   of  Commerce,   Community,  and   Economic                                                               
Development; and providing for an effective date."                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
4:51:57 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR LEDOUX opened public testimony.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
4:52:21 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
ABBY   LAING,   Owner,   Thrive  Integrative   Medicine;   Alaska                                                               
Association of  Naturopaths, offered her belief  that naturopaths                                                               
are unable  to provide  the current scope  of practice  that they                                                               
are  trained  for  under  current law,  adding  that  it  creates                                                               
unnecessary inefficiencies in the  healthcare system.  She stated                                                               
that  HB 91  improves  healthcare access,  removes  the need  for                                                               
Alaskans  to  seek costly  and  duplicative  care, addresses  the                                                               
shortage of primary care providers  in the state, and allows each                                                               
consumer a  greater freedom to  choose how to best  address their                                                               
healthcare  needs by  allowing naturopathic  doctors  to do  what                                                               
they are trained for.  She  addressed provisions in the bill that                                                               
allows   naturopathic   doctors    prescriptive   privileges   of                                                               
noncontrolled substance  medications and  allows them  to provide                                                               
minor office  procedures.   She gave a  short description  of her                                                               
educational   background,  which   included   a  4-year   medical                                                               
doctorate  level   program  with  140  hours   of  pharmaceutical                                                               
training.   She noted that prescriptive  privileges are currently                                                               
being  provided  in Alaska  by  other  healthcare providers  with                                                               
equal or lesser pharmaceutical training.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
4:59:25 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS  asked what  kind of  training it  takes to                                                               
become a naturopathic doctor (ND).                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
MS.  LAING stated  that regulated  states require  4 years  of an                                                               
undergraduate degree  with a  premedical track and  4 years  of a                                                               
doctorate level program, adding that a residency is optional.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
5:00:39 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SUZETTE MAILLOUX,  Secretary, Alaska Association  of Naturopathic                                                               
Physicians,  gave   a  short   description  of   her  educational                                                               
background,  adding that  it was  a tough  decision to  return to                                                               
Alaska  after completing  her training  because  of the  "current                                                               
licensure."    She  informed  the  committee  that  her  practice                                                               
focuses on women's health and HB  91 would allow her to prescribe                                                               
birth control and hormone replacement.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
5:03:21 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN  questioned whether  there is a  decline in                                                               
naturopathic doctors in Alaska.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MS.  MAILLOUX  relayed  that  there  are  currently  46  licensed                                                               
naturopathic  doctors, while  in 2010  there were  over 82.   She                                                               
offered her belief  that Alaska is losing doctors  because of the                                                               
more limited scope of practice in the state.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MS.  MAILLOUX,  in   response  to  a  follow   up  question  from                                                               
Representative Hannan, said that  sometimes it's tempting to move                                                               
her business  to another  state where she  could practice  to the                                                               
full extent of her training.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
5:04:20 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  FIELDS   suggested  that,   even  with   only  46                                                               
practitioners,  there  still is  the  potential  to make  women's                                                               
health  substantially more  available and  potentially affordable                                                               
with HB 91.  He asked if Ms. Mailloux agreed.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MS.  MAILLOUX  answered  yes.     She  added  that  many  of  the                                                               
naturopathic  doctors  in  Alaska   would  like  to  offer  their                                                               
services  to lower  income  populations  and having  prescriptive                                                               
rights would better allow them to do that.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
5:06:22 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR WOOL asked if it was a tough decision between becoming                                                                 
a medical doctor or a naturopathic doctor.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MS. MAILLOUX conveyed that, after shadowing five different                                                                      
medical practitioners, it was a clear choice.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
[HB 91 was held over.]