What Can a Naturopathic Doctor Prescribe in Maine? (2026 Update)
If you've been a patient here for a while, you may have noticed us mentioning treatment options that weren't on the table before. You're not imagining it. In April 2026, Governor Janet Mills signed LD 2242 into law, approving an updated prescribing rule for Maine's licensed naturopathic doctors — the most significant expansion of ND scope of practice Maine has seen in years.
Here's what it actually means for your care.
The short version
Maine has moved from a narrow, enumerated formulary — where we could only prescribe from a short, specifically-listed set of drug categories — to a broader, exclusion-based formulary, tied to the AHFS (American Hospital Formulary Service) classification system used by Medicare, Medicaid, and hospitals nationwide. In practical terms, we can now prescribe from most standard drug classifications, except for the categories specifically excluded by the Board of Complementary Health Care Providers, the state board that licenses and regulates naturopathic doctors in Maine.
What changed
Before this update, our formulary hadn't been substantively updated since 1996 — a year after the underlying law was enacted in 1995. It was built almost entirely around natural and homeopathic substances: homeopathic remedies, vitamins and minerals, natural antibiotics and antifungals, and bioidentical hormones, along with a couple of conventional categories like local anesthesia and immunizations.
After this update, we can prescribe from the full range of standard drug classifications unless a category is specifically excluded by rule. This is a substantially wider scope, which is why you may notice us discussing treatment options that weren't available before. Some examples of what's newly available to us:
Antimicrobials, both synthetic and natural — for infections
Blood pressure medications (anti-hypertensives)
Cholesterol medications (anti-hyperlipidemics)
Asthma medications
Antihistamines and mast cell stabilizers
Diabetes medications
Peptides
Corticosteroids
Triptans, for migraine
Prescription-strength NSAIDs (e.g., naproxen)
This is in addition to the hormone therapy and natural medicine tools we've always had. It also expands what we can do in-office, including IV therapy administration and certain procedures such as IUD placement.
Having a broader formulary doesn't mean we intend to use all of it. We'll continue to prescribe only within our training, comfort, and clinical judgment on a case-by-case basis — this update expands what's legally available to us, not what we plan to reach for by default.
This also doesn't change when we refer you elsewhere. If a specialist, a different medication class, or a higher level of care is the right call for you, we'll still make that referral — the update just means fewer unnecessary handoffs for care that fits comfortably within your visits with us.
What's still outside our scope
Even under the expanded formulary, some things remain outside naturopathic scope of practice by law:
Any DEA-scheduled controlled substance, Schedule I through V — this includes things like benzodiazepines and testosterone, not just the most heavily restricted drugs
Psychotropic medications — things like SSRIs, other antidepressants, and other psychiatric prescriptions
Most anti-neoplastic (chemotherapy) drugs
Surgical procedures beyond specific authorized office procedures
Newly licensed or newly independent prescribers are also required to complete a 12-month collaborative relationship with a licensed MD or DO to review their prescribing practices before prescribing fully independently. Our providers have already completed this collaborative relationship.
Why this happened
The expansion followed sustained advocacy from Maine's naturopathic community and patients — including public testimony and more than 1,500 letters submitted to the Governor's office — arguing that an outdated, overly narrow formulary was limiting access to care, particularly in rural parts of the state with physician shortages. It wasn't uncontested: a coalition of conventional medical organizations opposed the change during the legislative process. The final rule reflects the Board's effort to balance expanded access with continued public safety oversight.
What this means for you as a patient
Practically, it means fewer unnecessary handoffs — more of your care can happen in one visit, with a provider you already know, instead of being split off elsewhere for things that used to fall just outside our old formulary.
If you have questions about whether a specific treatment or medication falls within our current scope, the most reliable answer is to ask directly at your visit — scope details can be nuanced, and we can tell you exactly what applies to your specific care plan.
Have questions about what this means for your treatment plan? Schedule a visit— we're happy to talk it through.
This post is for general patient education and reflects the state of Maine naturopathic scope of practice law as of July 2026. It is not legal advice. For the authoritative, current text of Maine's naturopathic scope of practice statute, see 32 M.R.S. §12522 and the Board of Complementary Health Care Providers' adopted rules under Chapter 6.
References
Maine Revised Statutes, Title 32, §12522: Scope of Practice. https://web.legislature.maine.gov/statutes/32/title32sec12522.html
Maine State Legislature. LD 2242 (132nd Legislature): Resolve, Regarding Legislative Review of Portions of Chapter 6: Standards Relating to Prescriptive Authorities and Collaborative Relationship for Naturopathic Doctors. https://legiscan.com/ME/bill/LD2242/2025
Board of Complementary Health Care Providers, Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation, State of Maine. Chapter 6: Standards Relating to Prescriptive Authorities and Collaborative Relationships. https://www.maine.gov/pfr/professionallicensing/professions/board-of-complementary-health-care-providers
Press Herald. "Maine expands authority of naturopathic doctors." April 15, 2026. https://www.pressherald.com/2026/04/15/maine-expands-authority-of-naturopathic-doctors/
Moss, B. "A Turning Point for Naturopathic Medicine: What Maine's LD 2242 Signals for the Future of Care." Townsend Letter, April 30, 2026. https://townsendletter.com/a-turning-point-for-naturopathic-medicine/
