WEDNESDAY, JAN. 23, 2002 NEWS THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 5A Doctors struggle to get license Naturopathic doctors not recognized in Kansas unless approved by committee By Summer Lewis Kansan staff writer For the fourth time in four years, naturopathic medical doctors are trying to get their profession licensed to practice in Kansas. "Without being licensed as practicing doctors ... we are no different than people with no medical education," said Mehdi Khosh, president of the Kansas Naturopathic Physicians Association and Lawrence doctor. "The law doesn't say that we are licensed professionals or licensed doctors. That is what we are fighting for." Khosh said the difference between naturopathic doctors and medical doctors was that medical doctors prescribed drugs and performed surgery. "Our training is based on herbs, nutrition, homeopathy remedies, counseling and stress management," she said. Khosh said if the profession was licensed, insurance companies would pay the fee for a patient to see a naturopathic doctor. Now patients have to pay for the expenses themselves. Khosh said naturopathic medicine was about 100 years old in the United States. "We are licensed to practice mainly on the west and east coasts. In Kansas, people just don't have the information about our training," he said. The association has tried to skip the credentialing committee, which is a part of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, by going directly to the Kansas Legislature for the past three years with a bill attempting to get all naturopathic doctors licensed in the state. The bills have failed because the Legislature didn't hear them — signaling the association shouldn't try to skip the credentialing committee. "We are taking a different approach this time by going through the health occupation credentialing committee beginning in early September," said Peter Kimble, naturopathic doctor in Lawrence. The credentialing committee consists of seven members who analyze the credentials of the profession and to vote to approve it or not. They have four meetings. One is open to the public. Marla Rhoden, health program analyst in Topeka, said naturopathic doctors were one signature away from being unanimously approved by the committee. Kimble said the committee voted while he was present and it was unanimous, but procedure says all seven members have to sign the approval. Rhoden said she wasn't sure when a decision would be made, but she said historically the toughest step in the process for a profession to get its license was getting through the credentials committee. Contact Lewis at slewis@ kansan.com. This story was edited by Cassio Furtado. Naturopathic rundown The four accredited four-year naturopathic medical schools: Boston University in Seattle Douglas College of National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Ore. Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine in Tempe, Ariz. University of Bridgeport in Bridgeport, Conn. The 11 states that recognize those schools' graduates as primary care physicians are: hose senior primary care physicias Washington Oregon Utah Arizona Hawaii New Hampshire Vermont Maine Montana Connecticut Alaska SOURCE: MEHDI KHOSH, LAWRENCE DOCTOR AND PRESIDENT OF THE KANSAS NATURPATHIC PHYSICIANS ASSOCIATION The Kansan is hiring page designers for Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Applicants must be detail oriented. Experience with Quark Xpress is preferred. Contact Kyle Ramsey at kramsey@kansan.com or stop by Room 111 in Stauffer-Flint Hall. Averaged utility bills offer manageability By Melissa Shuman Kansan staff writer Students who want to set budgets can get some help from the gas company. Every year, gas utility bills increase drastically with winter heating needs. One way students can solve the problem of dealing with unexpected high gas costs is bill averaging. Lawrence gas provider Kansas Public Service offers the option to total gas usage of the address for one year and divide it by twelve. That total is the amount the gas user will pay each month. Larissa Long, director of community relations at Utilicorp, which owns KPS, said the streamline program didn't lower bills. KPS keeps the bills at a consistent rate. That way, consumers don't get unexpectedly high gas bills. Gas users pay for their projected usage during months when costs aren't so high. "A person wanting to use the averaged bill option would pay the same amount each month," Long said. Neeley Spellmeier, Sabetha sophomore, lives at Aberdeen Apartments, 2300 Wakarusa Drive, and pays her gas bill with the traditional monthly option. She said an average monthly bill would be easier to manage. "I would consider having an averaged bill so I could know how much it was," she said. For electricity customers, Kansas Power and Light (KPL) has a similar program, using a rolling average computed from the previous 12 months. The bill can change every month, but the payments are kept at a more constant rate. KANSAN "They're going to pay for everything they use, it's just averaged out for a year." a KPL customer service representative said. "I use it, and I really like it because it helps me know what my bills are ahead of time." Kansas Public Service measures the gas consumption rate of the year before the bill averaging begins. Then, the rate is reassessed twice a year to make sure that rate matches the current usage. "If the payment is more than the consumption, it will credit to their account," Longsaid. "If they use more than they pay for, then they will have a debt on their account." Long said gas users could change their billing plans at any time during the year. Students who want to switch their utility billing to averaged amounts can call KPS or KPL to discuss payment options. Contact Shuman at mshuman@ kansan.com. This story was edited by Jeremy Clarkson and Sarah Smarsh. The Perfect College Don't worry about your roommate racking up a huge long distance bill. BarTel's toll protection plan protects you from unwanted charges. The College Connection phone line offers long distance plans to fit your specific needs. Call today to find out how you can get the perfect college connection from BarTel Communications! - Free activation - No deposit required - No contracts - No credit checks Your Voice Has A Choice! BTC BarTel Communications, Inc. 841-PLAY 1029 Massachusetts 1-800-417-5500 P. O. Box 220932, St. Louis, MO 63122 We Buy, Sell & Trade USED & NEW Sports Equipment PLAY IT AGAIN SPORTS We're Still Here. Remember, too much head is no good. 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