In an open letter to American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) members, president Michael McGuffin offered his take on healthcare legislation that recently passed the U.S. Senate—specifically the use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM).

In his letter, Mr. McGuffin states that section 4206 of the bill would have a direct effect on a small number of supplements: those for which there are FDA-approved health claims. “Section 4206 would set up a pilot program for ‘wellness plans,’ which could include those few supplements with ‘health claims approved by the Secretary.’ This specific language does not appear to extend to so-called ‘qualified health claims,’ since FDA’s approach to these is to issue a letter of enforcement discretion stating that it does not intend to object to the use of such claims, rather than to approve such claims. Currently approved health claims include, for example, claims for calcium and osteoporosis; soluble fiber and coronary heart disease; and folic acid and neural tube birth defects.”

Section 2706 would prohibit “discrimination” against any licensed healthcare provider. The bill states: “A group health plan and a health insurance issuer offering group or individual health insurance coverage shall not discriminate with respect to participation under the plan or coverage against any health care provider who is acting within the scope of that provider’s license or certification under applicable State law.”

This language, according to Mr. McGuffin, “appears to provide an opportunity for a broader inclusion of alternative practitioners in health insurance programs, especially in states and insurance plans that do not now include these. To the degree that acupuncturists, naturopaths, chiropractors, etc., use herbs in their practice, this section may bring more consumers to use practitioner-prescribed herbal products.”

Additionally, section 5101 “would establish a National Healthcare Workforce Commission to work with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, primarily to ensure adequate training and numbers of healthcare workers; improve coordination among federal, state and local health bodies; and encourage innovation to address population needs, constantly changing technologies and ‘other environmental factors’,” Mr. McGuffing said. “The workforce would also oversee a grant program established to help develop strategies to improve healthcare at the local and state levels. The National Healthcare Workforce is defined in the bill as including chiropractors and licensed complementary and alternative medicine practitioners. While the commission is not required to include representatives from these disciplines on the workforce, the explicit inclusion of CAM within the workforce definition provides an opportunity to strengthen the role of CAM in national healthcare.”

Finally, the Senate bill also includes section 3502, which creates “community health teams,” defined to include, “licensed complementary and alternative medicine practitioners.”

However, Mr. McGuffin acknowledged that none of these four sections are included in the bill passed by that House, so it remains to be seen what will make it through Senate-House negotiations.