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| Medicare |
 Naturopathic Doctors and MedicareMedicare is the primary source of health insurance for the nation’s seniors and certain people with disabilities who are under age 65. Yet Medicare has not kept up with the scientific and legal advances that have brought naturopathic medicine into the healthcare mainstream. Medicare currently limits participating physicians to medical doctors (MDs), doctors of osteopathy (DOs), dentists, podiatrists, optometrists, and chiropractors, but does not cover patient visits to naturopathic doctors (NDs). Each year, the number of people who qualify for Medicare increases and so does the need to provide them with greater choice in health care. A major AANP legislative priority is to get licensed naturopathic doctors included in Medicare so that beneficiaries can be reimbursed for a type of care that can prevent many types of chronic illness and improve patients’ quality of life by alleviating the need for expensive drugs and surgery. Why is this important?
In many states, NDs serve as primary care physicians and participate in both private insurance and Medicaid. Patients who are age 64 and under have access to and the right to choose a naturopathic doctor for their care and have those services covered by insurance. However, for those patients who are aging into Medicare, or turning 65, or for patients who become eligible for Medicare because of a disability, visits to their naturopathic doctor would no longer be covered, forcing them to either pay out of pocket or lose their provider of choice. This gap in coverage causes significant disruptions to continuity of care that can have very negative consequences on health and patient outcomes. We are working to address this gap by advocating for the inclusion of licensed naturopathic doctors in Medicare. Questions? Please email advocacy@naturopathic.org
History of Work
Getting recognition by Medicare has been one of our main federal advocacy priorities since 2014. Inclusion in Medicare was the primary “Ask” at the AANP DC FLI in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017.
In that time frame, we also submitted Dear Colleague letters with a variety of "Asks" to CMS and CMMI to include NDs in Medicare, with the 2016 "Ask" specifically to conduct a pilot project with NDs on cardiovascular disease.
Below are the documents and data collected.
Pilot Project
In 2016, the AANP asked Congress to direct the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to pursue a pilot project that would demonstrate the value of naturopathic care for seniors while saving the government money.
View Fact Sheet Dear Colleague Letter
In 2016, we advocated for a "Dear Colleague" letter supporting the pilot project examining the health benefits and cost savings of naturopathic care for seniors at risk from cardiovascular illness.
Read the Letter Data and Studies
We collected several key studies on naturopathic disease prevention and health improvement and naturopathic medicine for the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Disease Prevention and Health Improvement Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease 1 Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease 2 Study: Older Americans’ Views on Naturopathic Physicians in Medicare
The AANP sought to assess the interest of Medicare beneficiaries in having access to naturopathic physicians. We wanted to determine the extent to which Medicare beneficiaries would seek care from naturopathic physicians if naturopathic
physicians were included in Medicare. Nearly 100% of respondents said they would consider seeking care from a naturopathic physician if they were.
View Study Results Current Work
During the pandemic, we advocated for financial assistance for NDs, requested direct economic relief for NDs, and most importantly, to request that all COVID legislation recognize naturopathic physicians as eligible Medicare providers.
We want to ensure that all members of Congress know what naturopathic medicine is. That's why we meet with members and their staff to educate them on who licensed naturopathic doctors are, how our nations elders can benefit from naturopathic
medicine is, and how to expand Medicare to include licensed NDs.
Data, studies, and reports help advance our efforts to get NDs recognized by federal programs, including Medicare. We are working towards generating official documents to highlight the importance of deploying licensed NDs in all parts
of the healthcare system, especially federal programs.
We are collecting stories about how this gap in care directly impacts patients. If you are patient of a naturopathic doctor AND are/will soon be Medicare-eligible, please share why you don't want to lose access to your ND. Your stories
will be shared with elected officials to help advocate for the inclusion of NDs in Medicare! Share your story here.
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