1 August 2024
Earlier today, many of you received the long-awaited draft of the Department of Health's Sunrise Review report on our scope expansion/modernization bill. In all honesty, I have been sitting with it for the past several hours trying to collect my thoughts. Any of you who have a sense of who I am know that I have many thoughts and many feelings about the report that went public today, but I will do my best to focus this message on the facts, the process, the next steps, and how you can help.
First, the background and the gratitude:
Normally, these Sunrise Reviews are requested by the applicant. In our case, we were told in late May 2023 that a Sunrise Review had been requested on our priority bill by the Senate Health & Long Term Care Committee. This request came as a surprise to us, but we stepped up to the challenge, turning over an applicant report that I remain extremely proud of, and bracing ourselves for the time-consuming process ahead.
We had very little time to prepare our community, but when the written comment period opened a few short months later, you all delivered in force. More than 660 of you submitted thoughtful, honest, patient-centered comments in support of this bill, and nearly 30 of you braved sharing your passion and your stories out loud during the public meeting.
You all have been incredible advocates for this profession. We are so grateful. 💚
While I am disappointed by the Department’s initial recommendation to not enact our proposal and expand our scope, we are in this for the long haul and we will continue our efforts to move this thing forward. We know Dr. Bastyr was right: "The truth of our medicine will always win out. The truth of what we are doing will always survive."
Next, the process:
What was released today was a DRAFT report. When we went through this process 10 years ago, the report changed quite a bit from the time the draft was released to the time the final report was released. Per the communication this morning, the Department will be receiving written comments in response to today's draft report until the end of the month. (While there was initially a discrepancy between the e-mail communication and what was posted on their website, we have confirmed that comments will be accepted through August 31.)
We encourage you all to read the report and then to share your thoughts with the Sunrise Review team. They would prefer comments to be submitted through a survey, but we found the survey to be quite limited in its scope and potentially confusing in its wording. The Department has confirmed that they will also accept written comment via email to sunrise@doh.wa.gov. If you opt to use the survey, we urge you to take advantage of the comment boxes to help clarify what you want to say and to add context and perspective on the question at hand. (While the "progress" bar at the top of the survey makes it seem like there may be additional questions and room to add comment, the entire survey is on the same screen. There are only 6 questions.) Remember you could also complete the survey AND submit an email.
The final report is expected by the end of this year, at which point we will re-engage in the legislative process.
It is important to remember that the Sunrise Review report is merely an advisory report. The state legislature can still take action on any bill we bring forward and they are not beholden to the Department's recommendations.
It is also important to note that this Sunrise Review has no impact or bearing on our current scope of practice. There is no moving backwards in this; only forward.
Next steps:
We are actively setting up meetings with our legislative allies and state department staff to discuss this draft report and to solicit their insight and support. I will be working with the Board of Directors and with our lobbyist to compose a response to this initial draft.
The Legislative Affairs Committee and the full Board of Directors will continue strategizing and making decisions on how to move forward. There are many many options on the table and incredible minds working through the various possibilities. We will continue to keep our community informed as we make decisions.
Finally, how YOU can help:
Please share your thoughts on this draft report with the Sunrise Review team.
Continue to stay engaged with us and this process. While this is our priority bill in the legislature, the WANP continues to work on protecting our scope and profession by participating in other rule-making and legislative activities, as well as by watching out for and responding to discrimination against us by private companies. We continue to fight for increased insurance reimbursement and for better jobs for our doctors.
Also, come to our events! We host our Annual Member Party, our casual meet ups, our Pints & Politics, and other events to help us stay in touch with you - our members. These are great spaces to exchange information, to connect, and to build and strengthen our community. We really want to see you there to help US feel connected (and to know you want us to keep planning these things!).
Obviously, if you're not a member, join us.
And stay tuned and ready to act when we send out our calls for action in support of the naturopathic physician community. We literally wouldn't exist without you.
~Angela Ross, ND | Executive Director, WANP