Finally! Indian Health Services includes ND's in Loan Repayment Program

Way back in May I wrote a blog post about my experience lobbying for naturopathic medicine in Washington DC.  Every year a group of naturopathic physicians and naturopathic medical students gather in Washington DC to talk to their state representatives about naturopathic medicine, primary care, and our role in the national health crisis.  The last nine years our list of "asks" to our representatives has included a request to ammend the Indian Health Services Loan Repayment Program to include naturopathic physicians as eligible providers.

Finally, finally, our request has been granted - naturopathic physicians are now listed as one of the "priority health professions," paving the way for inclusion in many loan-repayment programs.  Awesome news for our profession and for patients who want access to naturopathic physicians!

For the full press release from the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP), read here.  You can also read the full announcement from the Department of Health and Human services here.  If you're confused as to why this is important, I highly recommend reading my blog post from May (hyperlinked at the top of this post). 

Congratulations ND's!