Thanks to all who responded. The Lyme Legislation passed. Read below:
Governor Patrick signed our legislation into law this afternoon, as outside section 67 of the FY 2011 Budget!
We all owe Representative Robert Hargraves (R-Groton) and Senate Majority Leader Frederick Berry (D-Peabody) an enormous amount of gratitude. Both worked extremely hard to push this bi-partisan bill through the legislature --and to encourage the Governor to sign it.
As many of you know, it had initially been expected that the Governor would actually veto our section. Fortunately, with some political maneuvering and a massive outpouring from all of you, the Governor was persuaded.
After the signing, we had the opportunity to speak with the Governor briefly (and take a few pictures). While relating our stories to him and some members of the press about the difficulties of having to go out-of-state for treatment, he did seem genuinely sympathetic and hoped this law would help us.
While we are under no illusions that this is suddenly going to fix the medical situation in Massachusetts– we do think it’s a small step in the right direction.
A great deal of thanks also goes to Donna Castle, Sheila Statlender, Jayme Kulesz, Brenda Boleyn, Robin Lemieux, and several physicians that I still won’t name online (old habits die hard;-) for all their hard work – as well as Karen Gaudian and Maggie Shaw, both of whom were instrumental in getting the Connecticut law passed – for their guidance in this process.
For those of you that are interested, the language is posted on the Governor’s website at: http://www.mass.gov/bb/gaa/fy2011/os_11/h67.htm <http://www.mass.gov/bb/gaa/fy2011/os_11/h67.htm>
The language is extremely similar to that passed in Connecticut and was thoroughly vetted by ILADS docs. For those of you that have been frightened by the very mention of “CDC Surveillance criteria”, please note that this is only to acknowledge the inclusion of Lyme that does NOT meet CDC criteria in the provisions of this law and understand that this was necessary so that the law could not be misinterpreted at a later date to exclude cases that do NOT meet the CDC criteria.
Congratulations to us all for making Massachusetts just a little bit more ‘Lyme-friendly’.
Susan
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Susan Fairbank-Pitzer
lymebill@gmail.com
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As many of you know, I have been battling chronic Lyme disease for the past several months. And, while it's not in the arena of BetterJobsFaster, many of you have shared your well wishes for my healthy recovery. Because of this, I wanted to let you know that there is a Lyme bill on Gov. Patrick's desk in Massachusetts that will protect doctors who treat Lyme patients. There is a question about whether this bill will pass or not, because the organizations with the money are the ones getting Gov. Patrick's attention. I wanted to ask you to send a message that the citizens of Massachusetts care about this bill and encourage its passage.
Currently, doctors who treat Lyme patients are being attacked by the Insurance companies who do not want to pay for long-term treatment. There are laws currently that protect the patients from being denied coverage, so the insurance companies are targeting the doctors. I'd like to ask for your help in getting this bill passed, so doctors are protected and sick patients get the care they need. It's important, so please take a few minutes to click the link and please forward on to your friends.
Governor Patrick's Office: Use this link to send an email: http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=gov3utilities&sid=Agov3&U=Agov3_contact_us
Scroll down to Email Form
Please also contact the Commissioner of the Department of Public Health, John Auerback
You can copy and paste this information into the form in the proper areas.
Thanks so much! I'm confident that we can make a difference,
Dan DeMaioNewton
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SAMPLE LETTER TO GOVERNOR:
The Honorable Deval Patrick Governor of Massachusetts Massachusetts State House
RE: The Outside section of the Conference Committee Report of the FY11 Budget pertaining to long-term treatment of Lyme disease
Dear Governor Patrick:
I want to urge you to sign the FY11 Budget with the section pertaining to long-term treatment of Lyme disease intact. This is extremely important legislation for my family and our state.
(INSERT YOUR SHORT STORY HERE if you want)
This Legislation will allow physicians to clinically diagnose a patient with Lyme disease and will enable very ill MA residents to choose treatment options that best meet their needs, while the medical community works to find better consensus on LD treatment guidelines. Please sign it into law and allow the citizens of Massachusetts a choice in the treatment of Lyme disease.
Sincerely, Jane Doe 435 Maple Street Anytown, MA 00022
The Details:
*Text of the proposed legislation: Chapter 112 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 12CC the following section:- Section 12DD. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings:- “Long-term antibiotic therapy” the administration of oral, intramuscular or intravenous antibiotics singly or in combination, for periods of time in excess of 4 weeks. “Lyme disease” the clinical diagnosis of a patient by a physician, licensed under section 2 of chapter 112 of the presence of signs or symptoms compatible with acute infection with Borrelia burgdorferi; late stage, persistent or chronic infection with Borrelia burgdorferi; complications related to such infection or with such other strains of Borrelia that after adoption of this bill, are recognized by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a cause of Lyme disease. “Lyme disease” shall also include an infection that meets the surveillance criteria set forth by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and a clinical diagnosis of Lyme disease that does not meet the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveillance criteria but presents other acute and chronic signs or symptoms of Lyme disease as determined by the treating physician. Such clinical diagnosis shall be based on knowledge obtained through medical history and physical examination only, or in conjunction with testing that provides supportive data for such clinical diagnosis. (b) A licensed physician may prescribe, administer or dispense long-term antibiotic therapy for a therapeutic purpose to eliminate infection or to control a patient’s symptoms upon making a clinical diagnosis that the patient has Lyme disease or displays symptoms consistent with a clinical diagnosis of Lyme disease, if such clinical diagnosis and treatment are documented in the patient’s medical record by the prescribing licensed physician.
** H1148: An Act relative to the treatment of chronic Lyme disease, filed by Representative Robert Hargraves last year, had been stalled and changed in various committees as it made its way through the legislature and we were running out of time to get that bill passed during the current legislative session. Senator Frederick Berry worked with Rep. Hargraves to attach identical language (which is similar to the CT law) to both the Senate and House versions of the Budget. The Senate and House versions of the FY 2011 Budget have both been passed in their respective chambers and are currently in Conference Committee, where any discrepancies will be negotiated. Because both versions of the budget contain the identical physician protection language, that section will remain the same in the final Budget that is presented to the Governor, which will probably be on or around June 19th (Please try to contact the Governor before then!) This is our very best chance to see this become law – and the only possibility of it becoming law this year.
If you have any questions or need help, please contact any of the following people: Susan Fairbank-Pitzer at nslyme@gmail.com or lymebill@gmail.com Donna Castle at dcastlemom@yahoo.com Sheila Statlender at sstatlende@aol.com Jayme Kulesz at jkulesz@charter.net Robin Lemieux at notesfromrobin@yahoo.com
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