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Press Releases
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Access to Medical Treatment Act
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S-578 - Sponsored by Senator Tom Daschle
HR-746 - Sponsored by Congressman Peter DeFazio
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We need your support for this medical freedom bill being introduced to Congress. This is the first major piece of federal legislation specifically addressing access to alternative and complementary therapies and the importance of this bill can not be overstated. The bill has sponsors in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. In describing his support for the bill, Senator Daschle has stated that, "Our current healthcare delivery system actually discourages rather than encourages the development of alternative therapies that could effectively treat illnesses that often do not respond well, if at all, to conventional medicine."
As a healthcare practitioner specializing in what is viewed as a form of alternative medicine, this act would have an impact on your professional practice. We do not feel it appropriate to request your support on something you are not familiar with, therefore a summary of the Act is included for your review. We, however, are confident that upon your review of the Act summary, you will feel compelled to help support it.
HOW CAN YOU HELP? It's as simple as hand writing three letters -- one to each of your U.S. Senators and one to your U.S. Representative. You are encouraged to hand write each of the letters -- we are told that hand written letters receive more attention. As elected officials, your Senators and Representatives are sensitive to the issues that are important to you.
WHO SHOULD YOU SEND IT TO? If you do not know the names of your Congressional representatives, look in your local telephone book -- you should find a Federal Government section that will list their names. Their addresses will be as follows:
The Honorable (full name)
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510 |
The Honorable (full name)
U. S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515 |
WHAT SHOULD YOU WRITE? Let them know that you are writing as one of their constituents and that you are asking for their support and strongly urge them to co-sponsor the Access to Medical Treatment Act. It is important that you reference the bill number -- in the Senate the bill number is S-578 and in the House of Representatives the bill number is HR-746. Be sure to include your full name, your address, and most importantly, sign your letter.
WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO TO SUPPORT THE ACT? Pass this information about the Act on to your patients, friends and family. Encourage them to write letters to their Congressional representatives. It is through the efforts of many people that this important legislation will be enacted, broadening our healthcare choices.
ACT SUMMARY
S-578 - Sponsored by Senator Tom Daschle
HR-746 - Sponsored by Congressman Peter DeFazio
THE PROBLEM:
The United States has the best medicine in the world, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plays an essential role in evaluating the safety and efficacy of medical treatments. However, the current healthcare delivery system serves to discourage the development and utilization of alternative medical treatments that may have untold potential.
The time and expense currently required to gain FDA approval of a treatment works to limit participation in this system to large pharmaceutical companies. It makes it difficult to take advantage of the potentially innovative contributions of individual practitioners, scientists, smaller companies and others who do not have the financial resources to complete the FDA approval process. It also serves to prevent low-cost treatments from gaining access to the market.
Therefore, it makes sense to consider opening up the system to alternative treatments that may help patients and are not proven harmful under certain carefully circumscribed conditions.
THE PROPOSAL:
This legislation would allow an individual to be treated by any licensed healthcare practitioner with any method of medical treatment the individual desires, so long as: (1) there is no basis to conclude that the treatment would be dangerous to the individual and (2) the patient is fully informed of its side effects. The bill also strictly regulates the circumstances under which claims can be made with respect to the efficacy of a treatment.
FDA's ROLE WOULD NOT BE CHANGED
The Access to Medical Treatment Act would not dismantle or appreciably change the current operations of the FDA or the conventional medical community. The FDA would still have responsibility for certifying treatments as safe and effective. This legislation merely attempts to open up the system to the utilization of certain new alternative treatments. The claims restriction in the bill is designed to remove incentive for major marketing efforts of non-FDA approved treatments, and should address the legitimate concern that this legislation could inadvertently become a "bypass" for the FDA approval process.
CONSUMER PROTECTIONS ARE AN ESSENTIAL ELEMENT OF THE BILL
The bill contains several important protections to address the issue of consumer safety. In addition to the claims restriction, these protections include a tight definition of who qualifies as a healthcare practitioner, strict informed consent requirements, and a stipulation that treatments administered under this legislation may not pose a danger to the patient.
THIS IS A FREEDOM OF CHOICE ISSUE
Freedom of choice is one of the bedrock principles upon which our nation rests. Permitting administration of alternative medical treatments, provided that individuals are not misled or misinformed, extends freedom of choice to the realm of medicine. This legislation stems from the conviction that an individual suffering from a life-threatening or otherwise serious disease for which conventional medicine offers limited hope should not be denied access to a non-conventional treatment if there is reason to believe that it might be beneficial.
An individual shall have the right to be treated with any method of medical treatment that he or she desires, so long as the following conditions are met:
- The practitioner has personally examined the patient
- The administration of the treatment does not violate licensing laws
- There is no reasonable basis to conclude that the treatment poses an unreasonable and significant risk of danger to the patient
- The patient has been informed in writing of the nature of the treatment, including side effects and any other information necessary to meet FDA informed consent requirements
- The patient has been informed in writing of the fact that the treatment has not been declared safe and effective by the federal government, and has signed a written statement indicating that he or she has been made aware of this information
- Any label on the treatment is not false or misleading
- No advertising claims have been made with respect to the efficacy of the treatment, except for accurate and truthful reporting by a practitioner of the results of his or her administration of a treatment.
Practitioners must report the nature and results of any treatment found to be dangerous to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The Secretary of Health and Human Services must properly disseminate this information.
Practitioners must report the nature and results of any treatment found to have a positive effect (significantly greater than the positive effect expected from a conventional treatment) on life-threatening medical conditions to the Office of Alternative Medicine.
A treatment may be produced and introduced or delivered into interstate commerce for use in accordance with this Act, as long as there have been no advertising claims made by the manufacturer, distributor, or seller.
A practitioner, manufacturer, distributor or other seller may not violate any provision of the Controlled Substances Act in the provision of treatments in accordance with this Act.
A healthcare practitioners who knowingly violates any provisions of this Act shall not be covered by the protections of this Act and shall be subject to all other applicable laws and regulations.
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