In the full article found here the American Medical Association claims that "in 2009, physicians fought a blitz of scope-of-practice expansions by other health professionals on legislative, legal and regulatory fronts.  Organized medicine defeated attempts by naturopaths to seek licensure, prevented chiropractors from being able to perform invasive procedures and achieved further regulation of lay midwives. The efforts were among more than 300 scope-related bills the American Medical Association tracked last year. Physicians don't expect the battles to let up, and with patient safety on the line, they are countering such efforts with some fresh tactics."

"In anticipation of another onslaught in 2010, physicians, with the help of AMA model legislation, plan to push lawmakers to establish state scope-of-practice review panels to evaluate plans by nonphysician health professionals who wish to expand their practice realm."

"The AMA also is helping states with model legislation requiring nonphysicians to identify their credentials clearly -- for instance by wearing badges or limiting use of the term doctor."

"When legislative avenues fail, nonphysicians are turning to regulatory boards to expand their realm of expertise -- a tactic that increasingly is landing scope debates in the courts, said Rocky Wilcox, vice president and general counsel at the Texas Medical Assn."

"In a recent win, a Travis County District Court judge, on Nov. 24, 2009, struck down a 2005 state chiropractic board regulation allowing chiropractors to perform manipulation under anesthesia and needle electromyography. The court said state law forbade nonphysicians from performing such surgical procedures. The TMA and Texas Medical Board sued the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners and the Texas Chiropractic Assn. over the regulation. An appeal is under way."

"The court also found, however, that state law may not preclude a portion of the board regulation allowing chiropractors to use the term "diagnose." A trial on that issue is expected to begin in March."

If you want to understand WHY your state professional association is "political", the AMA states it very clearly:

"This is a problem that all states are having, and our view is the Legislature has the policy power to decide who can safely do certain things," Wilcox said. "If these [regulatory] decisions are not challenged, then it allows agencies to go way outside of what the statute says, and allied professionals will be practicing medicine and diagnosing medical conditions when they are not qualified to do it. So it's a safety issue....Pending a lack of resolution, we are looking at legislative remedies and would not foreclose the possibility of landing in a court of law." 

"Nonphysician health professionals and their boards say their scope and authority are being restricted unfairly, risking access to care."

"Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners Executive Director Glenn Parker said chiropractors performing manipulation under anesthesia and needle EMG undergo extensive training and are well-qualified to do what he said were nonsurgical procedures. Moreover, they must be able to diagnose patients to determine if chiropractic or medical care is appropriate."

"The Texas case 'brings up legal questions about the state of Texas allowing medical associations to determine what is and is not within the scope of chiropractors,' Parker said. State chiropractors also are expected to push for legislative remedies, he added."

The AMA claims "team-based collaboration among physicians and other health care professionals is key to resolving access issues. "Do you want patients to have access to just anything or have access to a quality standard of care?"  

This author eagerly awaits the day when the AMA decides to be a "team-player".  So far it seems that they are merely attempting to "take away" the "turf" of other duly licensed and regulated healing arts professionals.