Small News/Politics Graphic Access to Medical Treatment Act Introduced in House by DeFazio and Barton
by Michael Evers From Natural Healthline

Responding to what they termed as "excessive limits on the availability of alternative medical treatments," Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Joe Barton (R-TX) and a bipartisan coalition of 38 other House members introduced legislation that would "give patients more options in choosing their health care."

The Access to Medical Treatment Act (H.R.746) gives patients the right to obtain non-harmful alternative medical treatments without going through the Food and Drug Administration's lengthy and expensive approval process.

"As we confront escalating medical costs and struggle to protect the Medicare program, alternative medicine offers affordable and often effective treatments for chronic illnesses when conventional treatments fail," DeFazio said. "There's no reason to deny people access to the broadest range of medical treatments."

The DeFazio-Barton bill requires full disclosure to patients of the contents and possible side effects of treatments and mandates that patients be notified if the federal government had not yet proven the drug to be safe or effective. It also specifies that only state-licensed health care providers working within the scope of their practice may administer the treatments. Most importantly, the bill strictly regulates how claims can be made on treatment effectiveness, and prohibits all advertising and labeling claims when a treatment's promotion is linked to a personal financial incentive.

"I want to get the thousand-pound gorilla known as the FDA off of the backs of people who want access to beneficial alternative health treatments without compromising the public's safety," DeFazio said. "This legislation will accomplish that goal."

Joining DeFazio and Barton as original cosponsors of H.R. 746 are the following:

REPUBLICANS

DEMOCRATS INDEPENDENT


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