This report summarizes NHFA’s work providing support for groups working to pass Safe Harbor Practitioner Exemption bills in their states. The bills protect access to independent health care practitioners who do not hold state health occupational licenses and are currently practicing in the public domain. The bills protect the broad range of health care and healing practitioners, including herbalists, traditional naturopaths, homeopaths, body workers, and culturally specific healing practices that are not currently licensed or registered by the states and that do not rise to the level of concern requiring state oversight, certification, registration, or licensure.
NHFA attorneys help people understand the laws behind the need for Safe Harbors and provide drafts of Safe Harbor bills to groups working on passing bills. NHFA also provides support on how to lobby and pass Safe Harbor in the states.
In legislative 2025-2026 session NHFA supported groups that introduced Safe Harbor bills in Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma. Since 2024, NHFA has provided active support to groups in California, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Minnesota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming, either by moving toward the introduction of their own Safe Harbor bill; or, with amending or defeating bills that would harm unlicensed practitioners of complementary and alternative healing and the ability of consumers to access the health care of their choice.
Safe Harbor exemption laws are needed to protect consumer access to complementary and alternative health care practitioners and protect the practitioners from being unfairly charged with practicing a health care occupation without a license. Safe Harbor laws require practitioners to avoid certain prohibited acts and to give specific disclosures to clients.
Eleven states protect consumer access to unlicensed health care practitioners, including Oklahoma, Idaho, Minnesota, Rhode Island, California, Louisiana, New Mexico, Arizona (limited exemption for homeopaths passed in Arizona), Colorado, and Nevada and Maine.
Green indicates that a Safe Harbor law has passed, in some form, in that state.
Blue indicates that a state is actively working on a Safe Harbor bill.
Light Blue indicates that a state has worked on a bill in the past but is currently inactive.
Red indicates no one is currently working on a Safe Harbor bill.
Bill Activity Below:
If you have a committed group of people wanting to work on a Safe Harbor bill in your state, National Health Freedom Action can assist you in your efforts.
NHFA attorneys are happy to support you in your work to draft legislation, get it introduced in your state legislature, and move it through the legislative process however they can.
Generally, we recommend the first step is to find 4-10 other like-minded individuals who you’d like to work on this project with you and then reach out to set up an exploratory conversation with one of our attorneys.
Together we truly can make changes to our laws that reflect the wishes of the people. It is not easy or fast, but it is urgent that we pay attention to what is happening in legislatures across the nation. When we see policies that infringe on our rights as individuals to make our own health decisions, we must counter them with proactive and protective solutions.
