Health Freedom Overview -- General Info / Research
If what you want to know is not covered on this page, try the Advocacy Page. This page mainly has general / national and some Montana info.
This page was edited July 7, 2008 to reflect a national trend: instead of CAM, the correct terminology is Alternative Health Care (ACH). The Montana Law Conflicts white paper was also revised to reflect this change. It is important to note, that the rest of the page was last updated on the date at the top of the page. Update November 24, 2008: It should also be noted that while this legislation will affect all unlicensed health care practitioners, this issue was raised first in the Alternative (and complementary) health care community -- that is why there are strong references to CAM & AHC practitioners.
This page contains general information concerning Alternative Health Care Freedom of Health Care Access issues. We've put all of our research in one place and made it accessible to you.
Click on the links for further information.
Some links take you to other Websites. Some links are to documents that require Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have Acrobat installed on your computer, click the link at right to go get it.
How are AHC providers currently affected by Montana Law?
Montana Law Conflicts: Currently AHC practitioners are technically breaking the law in Montana. This document is an analysis of just what practice acts are being violated. There is also a special section just for massage therapists, and a review of Health Freedom Legislation that was introduced in the 2007 Legislative Session.
How was the Montana Bill Drafted?
The Bill Drafting Committee Process:
Health Freedom is a big issue nationally. The most notable states to pass Health Freedom are Minnesota, California and Idaho. The MHFC wanted to take advantage of this nationally available expertise and that is reflected in the committee make-up. The bill drafting committee consisted of 4 people: Adam Sellars, a nationally recognized herbalist and consultant from California, Kim Sharples, a nationally recognized Nature’s Sunshine consultant and Health Freedom advocate from Colorado, Deb Kimmet the MHFC legislative liaison (and BLMTB Board member) and Vianna Myles, Reiki master and BLMTB Board member. The committee started with the national template provided by Diane Miller, the director and legal counsel for the National Health Freedom Coalition (NHFC) and made a few modifications specific to Montana. Diane participated in the discussions and decision making on the final draft to ensure that the bill draft complied with national standards, and to gain support from the NHFC.
It was specifically NOT re-written to conform with Montana's bill drafting manual. This is to reflect the fact that this bill draft comes from a national template. It can later be converted without compromising any of the intent of the bill.
What are other States doing with this issue?
6 states have freedom laws: Minnesota, California, Rhode Island, Idaho, Louisiana and Oklahoma. Several states have introduced or are going to introduce legislation. We've collected that information and have put all the bills and laws below for you to examine.
We've divided the laws/bills into 3 different categories: Minnesota Model, California Model, and miscellaneous.
If the file says "bill" then it is proposed legislation and has not become law. If the file says "law" then this is an actual law that has been enacted.
Any Notes prefacing the bill/law are the comments/analysis of the compiler as they pertainto Montana and do not represent the views or opinions of the BLMTB.
Minnesota Model:
This model seems to be the most complex. Included in the model is a Board or Office of Complementary Health Care that enforces and investigates those who break the law. In addition, there appears to be an extensive penalties section.
This model does not create a new board / office, but uses already existing infrastructure to enforce the law. California's is the least complicated of the bunch. The rest in this group are either the same, very close to, or just a little more fleshed out than California Law.
