A reader asks an important question about the laws threatening integrative doctors. We lay it all out.
We recently received this question from David J. Getoff, CCN, CTN, FAAIM, vice president of the Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation:
I continually hear physicians say (at conferences) that it is illegal for them to treat patients with natural means (diet and supplements), and that in California and other states, it is illegal to treat cancer other than with chemo, surgery, and radiation.
I have been unable to locate the regulations which prohibit this and if I am going to mention this in my lectures, I need to be able to cite the actual legal regulations.
Can you help me?
David, we’ll be in touch with you privately over the specific laws you might wish to cite in your lectures. But for this newsletter (and for our other readers), here’s an overview of why natural health doctors and producers are under constant legal threat.
Whether for reasons of conviction or crony capitalism, the government is heavily biased in favor of conventional medicine and against integrative or natural medicine. So laws often trample doctors’ natural right and their patients’ right to choose the healthcare options they prefer. Recent legislation introduced by Sen. Durbin and the FDA’s disastrous NDI draft guidance offer even more evidence of that—as if we didn’t already have enough!
If you have not done so already, please follow these links to our urgent Action Alerts on the Durbin bill and the NDI draft guidance. Your access to supplements could depend on doing so.
Federal Law for Doctors
Federal law clearly states that licensed physicians may “manufacture, prepare, propagate, compound, or process drugs solely for use in the course of their professional practice” [21 USC 360(g)]. Furthermore, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C) cannot regulate the therapeutic practices themselves.
Despite this, the FDA has approached individual doctors and threatened them with legal action if they continue to prescribe or use anything other than an FDA-approved drug or a drug being investigated under FDA procedures. For example, doctors legally using bioidentical hormones made by a local compounding pharmacy in their practice have been been intimidated by FDA officials who send a letter or demand a visit. FDA employees may also demand to see the doctor’s books or patient records, none of which is proper. The doctor may also worry that the FDA is in contact with medical insurance companies or the state medical board.
How Medicare and Medicaid Have Criminalized Natural Medicine
The federal government has also gained more and more control over individual doctors by paying their bills through Medicare, Medicaid, the Veterans Administration, etc. Federal law makes fraudulent billing a felony that can land a doctor in jail. This sounds fair, until one realizes that the federal government may interpret a natural health treatment as a fraud simply because it is not conventional. In this way, medical care has become criminalized and any doctor who accepts a government payment may be facing a jail sentence.
This is further complicated by the fact that a doctor who contacts Medicare and asks if a treatment is acceptable under notoriously uncertain and unclear government rules may be given completely different answers by different Medicare employees. But whatever the answer given, that answer does not represent an acceptable legal defense. A doctor may therefore check with Medicare, proceed in good faith, and still be threatened with jail.
If You Want Easier Treatment from the Government, You’d Better Hire Their Friends
Doctors faced with jail may agree to consent decrees with the government that govern everything they do and require them to fill out unbelievably burdensome reports. In order to fill out these reports, they may also be required by current government employees to hire former government employees at very high fees to help them do this. This aspect of federal supervision has been likened to a racket, which it often is.
Doctors must also be careful not to talk among themselves about the low reimbursement rates they are receiving from government agencies or decide to drop out of Medicare together. This can result in a charge of price-fixing under the Antitrust Acts and also lead to draconian consent decrees or worse.
In 2010 we wrote about a case in which the US Department of Justice, together with the Idaho Attorney General, charged a group of Boise orthopedists with a criminal violation of the antitrust laws for discussing what to do about the very low fees offered by the State Workers Compensation Program. They were intimidated into signing a ten-year consent decree agreeing to accept the Idaho Industrial Commissions’ price controls. News accounts also suggest that the doctors were “persuaded” to hire a high priced lawyer who until recently worked for the same division of the Justice Department that was suing them.
Is it any wonder that doctors today increasingly live in fear—whether fear of lawyers, insurance companies, or the government—and many wonder why they ever chose this profession in the first place?
State Laws for Doctors—and Drugs
Few people realize that in Kentucky, doctors cannot discuss chelation therapy with their patients or else they are subject to revocation of their license. Indeed, almost all Kentucky physicians who use alternative therapies have been either forced out of state or forced to desist from using alternative therapies, especially chelation therapy, because it “departs from prevailing practice in the State of Kentucky.” In other states, pediatricians face the loss of their insurance reimbursements if they fail to vaccinate all their patients.
While federal law is supposed to regulate the marketing and advertising of non-conventional treatments in interstate commerce, state laws describe what may or may not be allowed within the states themselves. Many states have adopted the same language as the federal code, in whole or part, to govern intrastate commerce. For example, many states have nearly identical definitions for the adulteration and misbranding of drugs as the ones in the FD&C, definitions that have little or nothing to do with what the words “adulteration” or “misbranding” actually mean in plain English.
At least thirty states have passed laws pertaining specifically to cancer, and a few of them have provisions for regulating non-conventional cancer treatments. Cancer laws provide for a variety of activities, including organizing and providing resources to combat the disease, establishing registries and advisory boards, and assisting patients in paying for the treatment. Some laws specify that cancer can be treated by only certain categories of licensed health professionals. Others authorize that the state health agency must approve cancer treatments before they can be used within the state.
For example, the California Health and Safety Code specifically prohibits the sale, prescription, or administration of a drug, medicine, compound, or device to be used in the diagnosis, treatment, alleviation, or cure of cancer unless it has been approved by the FDA or by the California Department of Public Health.
State Medical Boards Largely Controlled by the AMA
The bias against complementary, alternative, or integrative medicine in state governments is strongly reinforced by professional organizations like the American Medical Association. The AMA, which represents only about 13% of US medical doctors (even the AMA claims only 26%, but up to half that number are residents and medical students, who get big discounts on membership and a free subscription to a journal when they join), also has a seeming stranglehold on the Federation of State Medical Boards, which in turn greatly influences the state medical boards themselves.
All of these forces in turn influence insurance reimbursement policies, in most cases denying any reimbursement for alternative treatments and therapies. But nonpayment is the least of an integrative doctor’s worries. Of greater concern is the likelihood that the insurance company will send a complaint to the state medical board, or encourage a patient to do so, in order to shut down a doctor and avoid any future payments along similar lines. For this reason, many integrative doctors refuse to accept third party insurance. Even that tactic doesn’t always work, because the patient may send the bill to the insurer anyway, and the insurer may retaliate even though the doctor is not seeking payment.
Happily, several states have enacted laws that specifically exempt certain unconventional treatments and medical practices from state regulation. New Jersey, for example, offered the following rationale for its provision legalizing the use of Laetrile in cancer treatment: “In a free society, people should be able to choose their own forms of treatment for disease as long as doing so does not expose them to harmful products. In other words, the safety of drugs needs to be assured by government but not necessarily the effectiveness of drugs.”
A number of states have laws requiring informed consent, to give patients more responsibility over the therapies they choose.
State Laws Create and Enforce Monopolies which Drive Up Costs
Who can treat you is also determined by state laws. All state legal codes include medical practice acts which define the practice of medicine; stipulate the requirements for licensing health care practitioners; describe the conditions that can lead to disciplinary action; and provide for a medical board that is in charge of oversight.
Much of what doctors do could be done by highly trained nurses and other personnel, but the AMA in particular lobbies the legislatures to stop this sensible cost-saving reform. If federal legislation to insure the uninsured succeeded, everyone knows that there would not be enough doctors to service the demand, and prices would explode without such reform.
“Standard of Care” Means Whatever the State Medical Board Says
Many states do not have licensing options for naturopaths, homeopaths, acupuncturists, etc.—and so the legality of how and what they can practice is uncertain and varies. But MDs must be licensed before they may legally practice medicine in the US. And when their procedures fall outside what is generally considered “standard” medical practice (even when it is a higher standard of care), physicians who offer non-conventional treatments may become vulnerable to investigations for medical incompetence, or unprofessional behavior, or alleged violations of state or federal laws; a guilty verdict may result in fines, injunctions, loss of license, or even jail sentences.
This vulnerability is frequently heightened when the topic is cancer. Since the medical standard of care for cancer is chemotherapy and radiation, deviating from this standard can often be tricky, and state medical board attacks on integrative practitioners are all too common, and state medical board misbehavior is not uncommon. You may recall our article about the Texas Medical Board’s attack on a leading researcher and clinician in the field of environmental medicine and chemical sensitivity. Happily, the doctor still has his medical license (after three years in court), but it was a long battle.
Then there’s the all-too-typical case of Mark Geier, MD, a critic of using Thimerosal (a form of mercury) in vaccines, especially for children. His criticisms and revelations became a major thorn in the side of vaccine companies. In April of this year, he received a letter telling him that a secret hearing had been held by the Maryland Board of Physicians, and they had decided that he was “a danger to the public.” Because of that his license was being immediately suspended. At a hearing in May, neither Dr. Geier nor his attorney were allowed to examine any of the state’s witnesses (the state refuses to release their names), nor would they be allowed to produce any witnesses or testimony of their own. In fact, at no time before either of the hearings would the Maryland Board of Physicians tell Dr. Geier precisely what he had been accused of. The case is ongoing.
A key resource outlining state law is ANH-USA’s free 80-page report, “Know Your State’s Medical Board: An Integrative Medical Practitioner’s Guide to Understanding the Legal and Regulatory Environments in the 50 States.” Download it today!
Being a natural health physician is the highest legal risk profession we know. Because of this, we all owe a great debt of thanks to those brave physicians who persevere because of their love for medicine and genuine desire to help people.
Part Two coming in a future issue. We’ll continue this discussion with an overview of federal law as it pertains to sellers of food, supplements, and medical devices. Stay tuned!
Thank you very much for this primer (and PDF) on what integrative physicians and alternative practitioners are up against.
Have we all now reverted to communisim., What happend to freedom of choice.. Is money the only answer, God help them if this happens to their loved ones. Have they not even thought of how it wold feel to make their parent, child, etc go thru this horrible chemo, radiation ETC. all because of the golden dollar, how sad that we have become so selfish. One day you will, whoever y ou are will have to answer to the man upstairs, I pity you.
I take issue with your first sentence, “Have we all now reverted to communisim?”
Pat, the economic system responsible for this state of affairs is not communism, but rather capitalism. And what is happening in America right now is capitalism run amok. I am NOT a communist or socalist, rather I think the best term to describe my political views is as a social capitalist, where pure capitalism is tempered with the view that best interests of the people must prevail in any contest between a corporation and a person.
Through the practice of hiring industry personel to over see the industry, the regulatory sytsem in this country has become captive to the corporations that are to be regulated. Because of the massive amounts of money given to the politicians of both parties, corporations are able to buy the votes they need to have their favored representatives get appointed as the directors or heads of the regulatory agencies such as the FDA. After that it is a simple task to hire the people that are going to do their industry’s wishes rather than regulating the industry in the people’s best interest. Currently there are about 5 lobbyists for every Congressperson and Senator. This has to stop!
Be well.
Thank you for clearing that up. We have grown with a big misconception of what communism really is or means. As it is, those governments we consider “communists” are not really so. We also need to stop seeing capitalism as a sacred concept. The truth is, no government system is perfect.
Amen Jim D!! It is amazing to me that these Extreme Capitalists are always pointing at France’s “Socialist” medicine… but, in France they have a choice! In France, doctor’s are allowed to practice real medicine… including holistic practices!
I am currently in school for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine… I am a veteran and I love this country as much as anyone… BUT, I truly HATE where this country is going politically!! These short-sighted tossers couldn’t figure out how to run their businesses long-term without running them into the ground. AND, they are forever distracting us with BS… hoping that we won’t see the big picture of the complete stupidity that they are trying to get away with.
Don’t give in to the “pretty colors” and “flashy fertilizer,” hold our politicians ACCOUNTABLE… vote them ALL out, if necessary!!
I wasn’t able to comment on my own, so I am submitting this way (via reply). What the article does NOT address is the FACT that allopaths are not trained to really understand healing, and particularly healing with natural therapeutics. It actually takes 3-4 years of specific TRAINING in order for most students to develop professionally to do this well, and to understand how natural therapeutics work. Just because someone is “a doctor”- the term we usually , and incorrectly , reserve solely for allopaths, does not insure they have any idea whatsoever how herbs really work, and how to work with healing diets, and the myriad other Pillars of Natural Healing. This entire issue needs to be expanded to include naturopaths, OMD’s, and other well trained and credentialed natural healers who ARE TRAINED to understand the mechanics of natural therapeutics. Once again, it simply is not taught in medical school.
It’s ALL undr the banner of CONTROL.
Shortly, the world’s human population will be at 500 Million…
from 6.5 Billion. Why…the New World Orderdeems the 500 million
as a number they can CONTROL. See Georgia Guidestones
Bill Gates has spent 30 Billion to develop the most ECONOMICAL
and EFFECTIVE “SOFTKILL”.
Any such “SOFTKILL” will probably involve the FDA, doctors, and
hospitals (the HAVES) in the form of vaccines, IVs, medications, treatments, etc….
we (HAVE NOTS) that are labelled “WORTHLESS EATERS’ will become
part of the 6,000,000,000 people wasted. The 500,000,000 remaining become
as feudal serfs-SLAVES to the HAVES. That’s why this article is pointent;
without the tightening CONTROL they just might NOT be able to pull it off.
anarchy is the answer
And yet despite this war on alternative health care, the National Library of Medicine (PubMed.gov) is loaded with research on essential oils, herbs, nutritional supplements, etc., and how these things are so much more successful for treating Cancer and other chronic health conditions than the current “standard of care”…
So much for “land of the free”. What next? Do we really have any rights in this country? I don’t think so.
I think it is time to sue the FDA for the unlawful practice of medicine. We need to get the federal government out of our lives. We have the Constitutionally protected right to chose for ourselves. The FDA nor any other federal agency has the right to take away our options. The FDA has made comments in the past that natural medicines “will shut the medical industry down”. Bah Humbug.
I’ve been following Tim Bolen on his web site and recently he has been reporting on the Dr. Geier case. He also has a blog called quackpotwatch.com where things get interesting once in a while regarding Stephen Barrett.
Here’s the info from yesterday from his site:
http://www.bolenreport.com/Geier/UN%20Mercury2.htm
On the right-hand side of the page, there are a few other title links to see, if anyone is interested.
Welcome to the United Police States of America
Its discrimination against those of us who are chemically sensitive and many of the prescription drugs can be life threatening due to some of the inert ingredients. The FDA has allowed us , as a group, to be excluded from clinical trials so no warning labels are available. As one with a horrific inhalation injury ( total body) 22+ years ago; I’ve been through it all. In order to save the environment our life saving inhalants have or are being pulled off the market and all the others cause me grave harm. My doctor prescribed a mixture of saline spray and cortisone steroid from a stand alone pharmacy not covered by insurance. Many of my ‘ meds’ are wither ones that have been around for decades like theophylline, and not the new 24 hour chemically bonded ones or a regimen of dietary supplements and vitamins. A doctor needs to know about these as some cause blood thinning which I can’t tolerate. Also, FDA was about to pull all those ionizing air purifiers off the market and now that’s all there is. Those ozone producing oxygen concentrators can;t be used either and often only one supplier is available due to current govt regs and many are hauling tanks and paying for ins and their medical care as well as I am. I’m the living proof that the best way is the more ‘ natural’ way from an injury that used to cause death in about 5 years. its now almost 23 years and though i have many limitations, I’m still here and fighting for the best medical care for each person. Linda Joy Adams
This is not new. In the late 1970’s I was helped by a kindly old pharmacist who was ready to retire anyway. He helped me get rid of my monthly headaches and constant sinus problems. His advice? Vitamins E and C.
He said that he could lose his license for telling me about this, which I found incredible. Its been plain to me since then that you can’t trust the governing bodies when it comes to your health. And its only gotten worse. The drug industries and food industries put profits before people on a grand scale. And that makes me the saddest of all.
I am now taking a natural product for prostate cancer and my cancer scores have went from 21 down to 8. From stage four cancer to dstage two cancer. This stuff really works but the FDA, which is owned by big pharma, has said it does not work. Well, I’m living prof it works. We as a people must stand up to big money for their agenda isn’t about helping people, but rather making as much money as possible any way they can. But one should see they are killing off a lot of people with their piosoness treatments which considering the Earth is over populated might see their controling doctors as a nessessary evil. My treatment also has no side affects at all. And it is only 85.00 a month. Go figure. If one takes responsiblity for their cancer and removes fear, one can become healthy without the pioson and tremendous expense. Kind of funny we have went to the moon, have a space ship in orbit, built space age cars and are still treating cancer with the three same piosons for over 60 years. Wake up America.
What do u take. Thanks
The AMA works with state government Medical Boards to limit the numbr of medical students that medical schools can teach. This is to increase the shortage of doctors and drive up costs. No wonder doctors work too many hours and make mistakes.
Thank you for this informative article. We the People, not a Corporation as a “person,” i.e., big pharmaceutical companies, must take back our government and rein in the abusive power of federal and state boards that are conducting sham trials of the sort you describe. We need to make it safe for doctors to practice in a manner that is consistent with their and their patient’s best health interests at heart. The rackets you have described must be stopped.
it’s a shame what theyr doing to dr. mark geier! big pharma has everyone in their pocket!
Why can’t the US Government worry about the failing and decay of our Nation , and let Dr.s treat patients with any means available to cure and improve the quality of life for a nation of sick people , a great number that have illnes that may be inditrectly , or directly the fault of the
US Gov;t to begin with.
AGAIN, the govt has to control everything because it makes THEM money. As much money as they make by ripping the rest of us off and by “regulating” everything to their ‘standards’, the trillion dollar greed defecit would be in the black. your articles are so informative, yet they get me so mad cuz each one shows another freedom getting taken away….
Don’t confuse the gov’t with the AMA. Republicans are so hot to shrink regulatory agencies that things that should be regulated (like prices for drugs) aren’t and things that make profit for the Criminal Oligarchy are,
The Pastoral Medical Association (www.pmai.us) licenses Christian natural health practitioners and allows them protection under ecclesiastical law (there are 2 kinds of laws in the US – secular (municipal, city, county, state, federal) and church or ecclesiastical law). The church can license people as health care practitioners because this is a part of practicing one’s religion (to heal the sick).
The license from an ecclesiastical organization like PMA is valid in all 50 states. Please see the website for much more information on this!
Thank you!!!!!!!!!
I find the “cancer” topic to be ironic. Most Medical Professionals will not ever allow chemotherapy should they be diagnosed with cancer. Our illustrious President Reagan even went abroad to have his cancer “cured.” When is FDA, Big Pharma, AMA going to wake up? Chemotherapy is not the answer to “curing” cancer. All it does is MAYBE put a cancer patient into remission and who knows how long that will last? No one has that answer. In most instances, if the cancer does not kill the patient, the side effects will do the job. Ask me, my first husband died from chemotherapy side effects. My second husband has been diagnosed with cancer and chemotherapy has caused hair loss on the head, eyebrows, eyelashes and supposedly temporary muscular neuropothy. I asked the Oncologist what could be done about the immune system for patients receiving chemotherapy. He could not answer that. Why? Because even if he knew and told me, he could run the risk of losing his medical license. What a pity! I have learned through friends who have cured their loved one’s cancer. If it is not colorful, don’t eat it! Reduce Sugar (no refined sugar) intake because cancer thrives on sugar. Distilled water or reverse osmosis water Only. Eat lots of seeded fruit, including entire apples and Exercise, Meditate, reduce stress, Pray, I soak all store-bought veggies in vinegar water to get rid of the pesticides. There is much much more but I will not take space with what we do at home to rebuild my husband’s immune system after chemotherapy. He believes in chemotherapy as well as supplements; I support him but I have control in my kitchen and the foods that are prepared there.
Your question “When is FDA, Big Pharma, AMA going to wake up? ” is a mute one. They all know that Chemo, radiation and surgery are killers, not cures. They’re totally awake to the fact that they’re killing people and causing untold family misery, and they know that they must continue or the gravy train leaves the station.
The greatest scam in the world is the cancer research lie. So many cures . . . so many reasons to curtail them.
Without a revolution, don’t hold your breath waiting for truth for all to replace greed of the few.
If only they could all practice the philosophy, “I am here but to serve.”
John please… it is a MOOT question… one of no consequence. A mute question would be one NOT ASKED!
I feel in the name of Protectionism a severe form of Totalitarianism has slipped into our Constitution. I do not believe this is what our Forefathers intended. The FDA and all government offices are considered to be Staff following the rules made by the representatives(managers) of the people and we are the Bosses.Eveything is so screwed up because we have not been electing very good managers(mostly Lawyers) and honest and successful Business people need to run for office.I have a right to put into my body whatever I want as long as it does not harm me or someone else. Centuries of common usage has proven the ability of thousands of natural remedies to heal. Scientists still do not fully understand the human body so you cannot give a monopoly to one group over another just because the have paid out large sums of money to prove their value.
I am nearing my 86th birthday in very good health, thanks to some dedicated integrative physicians who have shepherded my care for over 30 years. During this time they have been harassed and hounded by the state medical boards. They gave up participating in the medicare program due to its narrow limitations that covered only allopathic care. I have been given only two pharmaceuticals during the past 10 years, both prescribed by allopathic physicians, and both had severe side effects, one of which caused permanent deafness in one of my ears. I shall no longer trust chemical treatments. It is amusing that in radio and tv ads for pharmaceuticals, the reciting of the litany of side effects and caveats requires more time than the information on the product.
Where are our congressmen? Aren’t they the ones that are supposed to work for their constituents? You have a rogue outfit like the FDA which seems to avoid all oversight, and the Oversight committee of Congress, you would think, would constitute the final entity empowered to rein in the incredibly outrageous abuse perpetrated by, among others, the FDA.
This is totally unfair to the Naturopathic Physicians and the patients they treat. If a doctor is trained in Natural Medicine there is no reason he should not be able to treat a patient who desires to be treated by natural medicine instead of dangerous drugs. Our medical establishment is all backwards. The first mode of treatment should be natural medicine and if that doesn’t help then drugs could be tried.
The FDA is so worried that herbs and supplements are not being tested and therefore approved. But look at all the deaths and lawsuits that are happening now because of their dangerous and deadly drugs. I would much rather go to a Natural Physician instead of a Medical Doctor but the Natural Physicians are few and far between. We need to change our thinking and attitudes about natural cures. The herbs and supplements are here because God put them here to take care of our illnesses. There is supposed to be, I have heard, that there is a natural cure for every illness known to man. It just may not have become mainstream knowledge yet but they are there.
A person that is18 years or older should be able to have and get health care they want with out interference from the gov. They should be able to choose their doctor and treatment.as long as they are paying for it.This gov. has become just too intrusive into the people’s daily lives.
In our MONEY/ medication driven world it is not surprising that the patient is sometimes the loser.
I am so thankful that there have been doctors willing to treat me non-conventionally throughout the years of my life. This article causes me to appreciate them even more.
Medical care in the US should be investigated by the Justice dept. I lost my husband due to the FDA closing down an herbal compound (Cansema) company that was clearing his cancer. They killed him !
There is enough room and money in this world for medicine and natural alternatives. I hate the Pharmaceuticals. THEY TOTALLY SUCK. They rip us off so bad now and chemical meds have way too many side effects. natural therapies are the best and have cured me every time i use them. i have no use for pharmaceuticals. they are one of the reasons our country is in such bad financial shape and people who need meds cannot even afford to get them. they suck all of your money out of you. it is a sin how much pills cost when it costs them 10 cents to $2.00 a pill to make them. totally a sin. they should be ashamed of themselves.
I’m 72 and have taken supplements for 25 years. I have taken calcium for all that time with no problems. I started taking vitamin K2 and doubled the dose two times. As I was doing this, I had increasing incidences of my heart skipping beats and other heart anomalies. I then had A-Fib two times, 2 days apart. I stopped K2. I was put on Amiodarone and Metoprolol, which fixed the A-Fib, but I still had a skipped H. Beat occasionally. Since K2 manipulates Calcium in some way, I stopped the Calcium and the skipped beats disappeared. While asking my cardiologist to take me off Amiodarone, I told him about the calcium/skipped H.beat relation. He said that was why I was given a calcium blocker, but that he wasn’t allowed to tell patients to stop taking their calcium. It seems to me that corporate greed and it’s control of health care is more important than the health of people trying to avoid dangerous Rx like Viox and statins.
It’s interesting that regulations today require doctors treat patients with drugs that come with all kind of warnings and side effects ranging from mild to death (black box warnings). With the need to control exorbitant health care costs, it only makes sense that alternative treatments be part of any health care program. Use of vitamins and other supplements, such as fish oil, in place of high blood pressure medications could save millions, if not billions, of dollars. And let’s not forget a recent study that showed 50% of 500,000 angioplasties were not necessary. At the cost of $10,000 each, that means health insurance companies spent $25,000,000 needlessly. The government should welcome alternative therapies as a way to improve health care while lowering costs. It is really ironic that the government would approve costly drugs that can damage health while shunning low cost, healthier alternatives.
It’s fascinating that what is currently called “standard” practice had not been heard of by our grandparents and great-grandparents. The healing properties of herbs, diet, and lifestyle were the standard, and were rigorously taught in many cultures. Now, in the interest of money, these inexpensive and often useful methods are not only ignored but styled as “dangerous.” (If misused, some can be, but then look at the warnings on your prescription drug insert!)
The logical fallacies in the government positions and statements are numerous. The only constant seems to be money, and many (fortunately not all) practitioners, regulators, etc. give in to the pressure du jour. Their view is small, their minds apparently closed. I just hope I can stay healthy.
Physician should continue to be allowed to prescribe appropriate medical treatment, including natural remedies, when warranted. Government should not take away the right for doctors and patients access to all modalities of healthcare.
I have personally benefitted from conventional and natural healthcare, and would like to continue to have the freedom to chose that treatment that best suits my needs. In fact, I’ve found that a combination of both conventional and natural treatments have worked synergistically to help in my recovery.
In fact, the combination of conventional and natural healthcare have, literally, saved my life.
This is just more resons to clean out the U.S. congress. Their taking money to make these CRAZY laws from the Drug companies!!! Thats stealing from the tax payer!! They need to be in jail and the pot smoker needs to be in rehab!!!! Daa !
OMG I know things are crazy out there, but I think the FDA, CDC and other “regulatory agencies” local, state or federal are way out of line. As a BC survivor of surgery, radiation, chemo, more surgery, more surgery, reoccurance, bilateral mastechtomy and 9 years of Tamoxifin (where I watched the price go up and up and up – except I have health insurance and now I have a compromised liver with fatty deposits – NASH – but no one wants to talk about it ) I have had to find out on my own that there are alternatives to such poisonous treatments of cancer. It is frustrating to know we have such a system that “protects us” while doing so much harm to so many and keeps us in fear of each other and closes us down to real intelligent and humane treatment.
Being a survivor of breast cancer and having to go through the “conventional” therapies of surgery, chemo, and radiation I think it is horrible that patients can’t seek “alternative” therapies. It has been 18 months since my treatments ended and I am still dealing with the side effects of the radiation and chemo and am not yet able to work more than part-time. If I had to do it all over again I would have skipped the chemo and radiation and chose to fight the cancer with natural therapies such as diet, exercise and lifestyle that would not poison my body. Unfortunately those of us who are living in poverty and have to rely on medicaid have no access to natural health because Big Pharma and their enforcers at the FDA are afraid of natural health because they cannot patent it and make money. They would rather poison us all with toxic chemicals than allow alternative therapies that help the body heal itself.
I know there is a very quiet movement by the ADA to stop all nutrition counseling not done by a RD. Can you tell me how this affects holistic nutritionists in Oregon and Family Nurse Practitioner?
I have been repeatedly told by state officials that this is an unregulated field and unaffected by the Rds… I’m not so sure.
This is pretty shocking stuff… I sure appreciate my great dedicated Drs more than ever, understanding the ruffians they are up against. How can we help?
This is why we have simply stopped going to conventional doctors at all. We go to a chiropractor only.
And the government just passed a bill, Obamacare, to allow the government even MORE control over your health care. There are folks out there that think the government should give Medicare to everyone. They truly believe that they are better off with the government telling them what to do. Wake up. this is communism. Elections have consequences.
How did we manage to get to this point in our country…better yet, how do the ones of us who care manage to get our rights back? What sort of monster did we create for a government? Scares me to think that so few people care or have time to pay attention. The ones that are involved are the ones who have something to gain out of it and unfortunately for us, they are so all around uninformed and completely uncounscious..
Just like the director of the fda said, people do not have the right to eat what ever they want, or take what ever medicine they want.
Thank you, thank you and thank you for sharing this with us! My dad has been on a tyrade (spell check?) for many years about this subject. He is living a plant based life since his wife passed with cancer and recieved no info from any doctors about nutrition for the body…before pills and chemo etc.. He is 87 years young and going strong WITHOUT the help from his doctors, who refused to discuss any alternatives. Thank you again! Julie
Is it possible for us millions of natural medicine users, as citizens, to sue the FDA, AMA, State Medical Boards…and any and all involved for
obstruction of living life as nature itself supports…
obstruction of natural and inalienable ability to feed and heal ourselves…
obstruction of the inalienable birthright to feeding our biology which sustains our breath and life, the nature and feed of which has been created by the “Big Bang,” the wisdom of which evolved into unknown complete complexities and dynamics imbedded in the form of vegetation – without man’s help – for the very purpose of first creating cells that reproduce and construct themselves into our biology – our body parts and systems and unknowns – and then requiring that very vegetation to provide for sustaining those very cells it helped create synergistically, the very feeding that repairs and therefore immutably heals its own creation, as seen in our microscopes, supported by the evidence that if our cells do not partake of “Big Bang’s” vegetation, the energies within each and every cell cease and they succumb to putrefaction at whose processes end we call death – and become ashes and return to that which helped create and give life to those now ashy cells???
…obstruction of inalienable right to all that which comes from vegetation?
J’sus!…what more needs to be said!!
…until some men decided they can become the wisdom of Earth and force-change that process because they decided they know better than their own biology and that of vegetation?
Why don’t those same men keep to those things they create and decide to ingest, and leave the rest of us alone!
Where are our millions of demonstrators? Why are we sitting like ducks?
Petitions are good, and I sign all, but the world does not see these… we know that imagery is more impactful…
…We can all show up for the deposition…
…aren’t we all familiar with the energy at a stadium or at a concert?
How can we ALL get together like this at once – peacefully -and do this?! Congress is not.
We can all wave our organic herbs!
sheesh…. this is frustrating….I feel I’m the walking dead….
Amen MaryAnn… I am in for a CLASS-ACTION lawsuit!!
I have always thought that our beloved government is out to reduce the population in this country.
They are the most heartless people in this country. They seem to think that they have the power to give life or take it away. Sorry FDA only the Lord can do that.
We all need to stick together and fight this with all of our might. The Lord gave us the tools to live a happy and healthy life. Nobody has the right to take that away. I honestly do not think G-d will let that happen, because he wants his children healthy. There were no drugs in biblical times.
The patients’ choice of medical care has been eroding for years. They just haven’t been aware of it, because up until fairly recently these kind of abuses (such as mentioned in the article against Dr. Geier) have been covert and hidden from public scrutiny.
This scenario may sound incredible until one fully understands the extent in which state medical boards across the U.S. operate. In an article written in 2007, by Andrew Schlafly, entitled Nation’s Worst Medical Board Met Its Match At Extraordinary Hearing, published in the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, Schlafly states:
“State Medical Board officials have never had to explain their actions to anyone outside of their group. They have enjoyed immunity and never expect to be held accountable to anyone, regardless of how they abuse their power. They function unrestrained, confident that state courts will rubber stamp their decision.
They have increasingly subjected (targeted healthcare providers) to an abusive power more commonly associated with a dictatorship or tyrannical form of government. These medical boards have a history of inflicting unjust, arbitrary punishments against physicians.”
What has been happening to Dr. Geier happened to me nearly 15 years ago and was my reason for leaving the United States to practice in Europe.
Professor/Dr. Brian A. Rothbart
http://curingchronicpain.com/?p=1549
Just a thought… Suppose that I entered into a “no liability” contract with you. You couldn’t be sued for malpractice but you were required to provide me with your best and completely honest opinion. If the State Medical Board had issued an order that caused me harm they would, through agency, be liable for that harm. In addition, the contract could state that if the directions of the Board harmed either of us as a result of the contract All Rights of Recovery would revert to ME. That means that I could sue them for harming me if they took any action against you for treating me.
More and more people are becoming aware of this issue and the ACLU ought to look at this. The issue is FREEDOM OF CHOICE.
Everyone should also be aware of Title 42, Section 1983 of the federal code… A civil rights act. Thats the one they sue cops under when they beat you up, but it also applies to anyone except DA’s and Judges that work for the gov’t (any gov’t) and violate your CIVIL RIGHTS. YOU have to bring it up to your lawyers though. One of the caveats is that the defendant has to pay for their own lawyer. Just mention it and it puts the fear of God in them. Every Cop I’ve ever talked to knows all about that one.
The FDA, USDA Congress and Big Government needs to be dismantled and we could do it if everyone would come together!! We the people have HUGE influences in our power and we have the ability to achieve this we just need someone to step forward with enough gumption and get-r-done:) I say we need a revolution! take back our country, our rights,our freedoms!! Whare are you AMERICA??
Look up the word, *FASCISM*. Then you will understand how government and business takes control of your lives. This country has been lost. It is not a free country any longer. If you think it is, you need to take a closer look or examine your vocabulary. This government is taking control of every facet of our lives. Even trying to take control of over the air TV and radio. Wake up, it is too late!
I defended alternative medicine this morning, 8/18/2011, and my post was removed. Exactly my point, Fascism, alive and well in the USA! No freedom of speech any longer. I rest my case. Best wishes and good luck to all!
many of us as early members have direct knowledge of “PMA” pastoral medical “association”
first of all – there is no “association”
it is ran by one man – eric carter
a farmer in texas who does not practice any “pastoral medicine”
therefore, it is “fraud” upon the contract
there is no “church”
no “ecclesiastical jurisdiction” per say
no jurisprudence
a one man band clanging a tamborine
fraud
/frôd/
Noun
Wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain.
A person or thing intended to deceive others, typically by unjustifiably claiming or being credited with accomplishments or qualities.
I’d like to know how you know that the PMA is a fraud, can you provide any support, any names to contact, emails, etc? thanks!
It is sad and sick what has happened to the medical field with in the United States in recent years. All should be scared, because one never knows when you might need real care.
The day we turned medicine from an ‘art’ which it truly should be to an industry, we were doomed. The industry has brainwashed people into believing if they do not approve it then it is just not good and should be feared. How does one not ask what is in a drug or what side effects it will give you but ask what is in a natural treatment and worry if it will interact with a drug. Do no harm first is an antiquated statement, today it is kill the disease and if you kill the patient oh well, next…
Thank you for having courage to write this much information.
So it sounds like it really does boil down to Government, pressed by industries, coercing patients to only be legally allowed to get surgery, chemo or radiation for cancer [in terms of cancer—they force mainstream treatments for other ills, too];
And, anyone choosing alternative methods to get well, is liable to get sued or otherwise prosecuted, have their children taken from them, have licenses removed, etc. draconian shrapnel-measures, if they choose alternative over mainstream allopathic.
Medical schools teach little or nothing of nutrition; a truncated, rare mini-course based on old information, indoctrinates repeat generations of Docs with odd beliefs like: “nutrition can’t cure anything”, perpetrates industry profiteering, clogs our medical system and budgets.
Worse, it’s hidden from plain sight of public scrutiny.
“Informed consent” too often is UNinformed, merely psycho-manipulation to get patients to participate as guinea pigs.
In the V.A. system, both patients and staff have been manipulated to get them to participate; staff are secondary guinea pigs–they just don’t know it usually [staff must sign away rights in order to work in the V.A. system; harm to health workers is rarely admitted unless it’s too big a deal wot avoid, then minimal effort is put into remediating it. V.A., despite hand-slaps over PTSD diagnoses issues, is STILL playing ugly games of mis-diagnosis to avoid labeling vets as having PTSD].
V.A. processes for research are heavily manipulated to have guaranteed outcomes, by whatever industry needs official “research” to prove their product is a good one in order to take it to market.
Been there. Business-as-usual, too often lacks good ethics; at this point, entire systems are rotten to the core with appearances of good intentions.
Docs and nurses are running-scared of losing their careers, if they do anything to actually identify root-causes of disease, much less treat those, or use alternatives to do that; it doesn’t seem to matter that there is a preponderance of evidence that proves efficacy.
Docs are impeded from learning what chemicals do to people and animals, therefore cannot connect the dots; they are restricted to treating symptoms.
Pharma has greatly ramped-up promoting labeling symptoms as new diseases they have things to treat; public rarely sees it for what it is. Pharma promotes poisoning of populations, and are getting away literally, with murder, too often.
We need and deserve far better.
The ugly game being played here is a group that claims to have authoritative information about medicine without actually having any good information. This group wishes to avoid all regulation what so ever. This is dangerous for patient care and dangerous for society.
chemo and radiation kills. just because the fda does not endorse alternative does not mean they are not better. the food we are eating is crap, contributes to people dying and being sick. Cancer has increased. Oh but the food, water, air, is not a contributor so the government and the food companies say. They are the worse bunch of human beings ever. When you make a law so doctors can not advocate something that is far more better than chemo and radiation, is a crime. People need to wake up, stop being lazy, start buying better food, cook at home, stop with all the medicines which some may be ok. But last I recall from working at a drug company the studies are usually 10 years, what happens after the 10 years. I have worked in nursing homes and been a caregiver. I have had patients with tons of medicines which is only profit for these drug companies. Many of the side effects are worse than the original illness. They experiment on animals. Our make ups is not the same as animals. I would never from what I have seen at the drug company I worked at ever endorse medicines. Yes some may help in the short range, but they don’t want you to focus on the long range. I wonder why so many lawsuits are prevailing. What is really dangerous for the patient is chemo and radiation. You destroy the cancer cells, the immune system making the patient susceptible to other illnesses, now they can’t fight it off and die. Hum I would take my chances with alternatives and eating healthier as I am doing anyday. The regulations in play are not for the welfare of people, it is to keep the profits rolling in to the FDA and the kickback to the politicians. Chem and radiation is so ingrained in peoples minds they are numb to researching for better treatments which do exist. Also the crap people are eating may be causing allergies which many doctors have only had 20 hours of medical training in food, and this is overlooked alot. Oh I am sorry doctors know best. Not always. RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH.
Penicillin, anesthetics even tonsillectomies can kill even in the most skilled hands. Yes there are untoward effects to Chemo and other cancer medications. However, there are cures as well and one thing we do know is that Cancer does. cure. Yes, our FDA is not very good right now because it is run by people from the pharmaceutical industry and many with MBA’s rater than MD’s or PhD’s, but there are also doctor spaws providing unreaserached stem cells from the popliteal fossa injected back to the patient stating that they will make the patient young again, guard against cancer and cure cancer. None of these effects have proven to be true. So we must be careful of the unscrupulous doctors claiming to have revolutionary “cures” for cancer, diabetes and etc. What we need is to get the PhD’s in basic and clinical science again to run the FDA. This is no place for an MBA who worked in a drug company and will go back there. Western Medicine was ignored by some one as wealthy and famous as Steve Jobs. There were much better earlier treatments for his neuroendocrine cancer than he availed himself because he got taken in by a group that told him to drink carrot juice. He did say before he died that it was a big mistake to ignore western medicine.
The government and the Food and Drug companies don’t care about people’s health. They allow the food administration to create crap they call food and pass it on to the people. You would be surprised what is in food or that natural food may not be healthy for you. The alternates used are animal products which because they are animal are considered natural. Cows being fed antibiotics because they milk them 24/7, kill the babies, and the government allows so much puss in the milk and people are drinking this let alone the antibiotics and growth hormones. How much milk are you drinking? Advertisement make you think drinking milk is good for your bones and teeth. Trying researching what it is really doing to adults and their children. Genetically modified foods, processes foods, so called all natural foods is all crap and killing those eating it. The government allows the food companies to regulate the imitation crap they are making so of course they are going to hid the ingredients and change the names of the crap in it to make it seem healthy. I recommend detox and then reintroduce the foods and see what it does to you and how you feel. The results will be crappy. I jut recently found out the government does not want doctors to advocate natural remedies, or eating healthy food. Organic, not all natural or the processed crap that is not food. Yes organic is a little pricey, but people spend tons of money eating out, not cooking at home, eating crap that is killing you and then complain when they are sick. There are healthier alternative and eating healthy can cure alot of cancer in people. Some people feel the doctors know it all, I have to do what they say. They are the doctor. Change your diet, look for alternatives, do research. Chemo and radiation is not good for ANYONE. It is big business for the drug companies, and a percentage paid to these politicians who should be ashamed of themselves. Greed, money, a lack of care about people is what is prevalent in the Food and Drug Community. They don’t care about people and their health, look at our sorry health care system. They only care about money, profits and control. The hope is God is going to destroy these organizations and the crooked people in them because of what they are doing to his children. My daughters and I have changed our diets, doing so much better. I stopped all the medications which sucked and did more damage than good. There are some doctors who do care and advise good nutrition, etc. I would never work in a field where I could not help people knowing the government is allowing people to die deliberately. Total jerks.
I have been thinking and feeling for years that the prescriptions I am taking are damaging my organs and that the medical system we have let evolve into our country is committing “legal” euthanasia on whoever they deem worthy. My problem is “ how can I safely get off all of these prescriptions?And what must I do and not do to heal myself ?”