BOSTON — Naturopaths, who practice an alternative medicine heavy on herbal supplements, are making a big push to gain more authority and stature across the United States, including the right to do more hands-on patient care and to be reimbursed by Medicare.
That’s raising concern among critics who see naturopaths as quacks — and who warn that offering them state licenses, insurance reimbursements, and other recognition only legitimizes their pseudoscience.
“You don’t want to regulate the snake-oil salesmen,” said Steven Salzberg, a computational biologist at Johns Hopkins who has been a vocal critic of naturopaths. “They don’t offer something that works to begin with.”
About the Author Reprints
I’m sorry – I didn’t find in your article any information regarding the “Corporate” partners behind the medical industry. Surely, there must be some.
Legitimizing naturopaths is extraordinarily dangerous. They are unscientific quacks who do real harm.
Read more from Britt Hermes, who is linked in this article, for a true inside view from someone who was a true believer and practiced as a naturopath.