A bill regulating “naturopathic doctors” hit a snag in a House committee Thursday amid concerns over patient safety.
The House Health and Human Services Committee postponed voting on House Bill 1064, which would create a registration system for naturopaths who have received four-year degrees in naturopathic medicine and who have been licensed to practice in another state. Fifteen other states license or regulate naturopaths, and the bill would require Colorado to recognize naturopathic medicine licenses issued in other states.
Supporters say the legislation is needed to protect the public from uncredentialed naturopaths. But some lawmakers on the committee Thursday expressed concern about recognizing the licenses of naturopaths from other states, whether they should be called doctors and what treatments they could prescribe. The committee may take the bill up again Monday.
