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'Politics'
is Not a Dirty Word
by
Cheryl Burney
I was so politically un-savvy once that when someone mentioned a grass
roots movement, I thought they were talking about Mother Earth's
hair! While ignorance may be bliss, it may also be costly. Witness the
change from free TV to pay TV. Witness the near mandatory vaccination
legislation last year. And there are many more examples in which the
people's voices could have or did make a difference in legislators'
actions. Like most people, I was loathe to get involved in politics,
as if it were a dirty word! Well, not any more. Today, I am becoming
more politically savvy. AND, I not only know what a grass roots movement
is, I joined one. What got me off my chair? Health Care!
Edison said, “The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but
will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet,
and in the cause and prevention of disease.” I can see a time when
CAM practitioners practice freely and work side by side with the traditional
medical community for the good of all. I see a time when all healers
assist people in creating and maintaining good health and preventing
dis-ease.
All this will take a grass roots movement. Why? Because you and I are
much more important than we realize. Take a look at the commercials
on TV. From shampoos to medications, telephones to restaurants, where
we spend our money matters. That makes health care big business and
explains why pharmaceutical companies now market via ads on TV, why
hospitals have billboards everywhere, and why they zealously vie for
our consumer dollars. Why this elaborate courting ritual over the last
few years? Quite frankly, because people's interest in how complementary/
alternative medicine (CAM) can help them create and maintain their health
has grown rapidly over the last ten years. According to the National
Institute of Health, between 1990 and 1997, our reported use of CAM
increased from 60 to 83 million while the use of traditional medicines
did not. With CAM, there is money to be made.
CAM practitioners and the medical community could work together in a
spirit of respectful cooperation. In fact, four states have already
enacted “Freedom of Access” legislation that allows individuals
to use either traditional medicine or CAM or a combination. Wouldn't
it be great if Georgia was a leader in this groundbreaking legislation!
The alternative is to waste taxpayer dollars in annual “turf war”
bills in an on-going effort to eliminate and/or regulate this fast-growing,
money-making CAM industry. The following are a few of the bills proposed
this year alone.
Senate Bill 162, Health Care Protection Act of 2003. This
bill would change the penalty for the unlicensed practice of dental
hygiene, dietetics, athletic trainers, professional counselors, social
workers, marriage and family therapists, physical therapists and others
from a misdemeanor to a felony. Under the current law, most CAM practitioners
can be found to be in technical violation of the law because state-licensing
boards might consider their activities to be the “practice of medicine”
and, thus, may use the full force of the state's police power to
suppress these healthcare practices.
CAMA
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