http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20130607/OPINION01/306070023/Lawmakers-put-sharp-focus-Lyme
Lawmakers put sharp focus on Lyme
Nearly a decade ago, New York was close — just a governor’s signature away — from doing a bit more, but the momentum fizzled. Fortunately, it is being ignited again, thanks to the work of several local legislators.
State Sen. Terry Gipson, D-Rhinebeck, and Assemblywoman Didi Barrett, D-Hudson, are among those pushing sound proposals, including legislation designed to protect doctors who want to prescribe long-term antibiotic therapy to a person with symptoms of chronic Lyme disease.
This is a huge issue. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention disagrees, critics say the federal government has not taken seriously the notion of chronic Lyme disease — patients who need more than the typical two to four weeks of antibiotics to treat it. What’s more, insurance companies don’t typically cover long-term treatments, and, worse yet, some doctors have been investigated for using more aggressive approaches to provide relief to their patients.
Gipson and Barrett are sponsoring legislation — called the Lyme Disease Doctor Protection Bill — that would allow doctors to make medical judgments without fear of an unwarranted investigation by insurers and licensing boards.
In 2004, Gov. George Pataki vetoed legislation that had a similar intent. At that time, then-state Assemblyman Joel Miller, R-Poughkeepsie, had made a big push for the legislation, arguing the state’s disciplinary process has been used to intimidate doctors who aggressively treat Lyme disease patients.
Clearly, the status quo in the treatment of Lyme won’t do. More than 12,000 Dutchess County residents have been struck with the disease in the past decade, and the county continues to have one of the highest rates of Lyme cases in the country.
Gipson also is sponsoring a bill carried in the Assembly by Kevin Cahill, D-Kingston. It would mandate that insurance companies pay for long-term care, something that also is worthy of consideration.
On the federal level, many members of New York’s delegation — including U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and U.S. Rep. Chris Gibson, R-Kinderhook — are seeking legislation that would establish a federal Tick-Borne Diseases Advisory Committee. This idea is to ensure that all medical points of view are being represented before public health policy decisions are reached in relation to Lyme. That, too, is a good idea, one that has been kicked around too long without action.
Both state and federal representatives have to stay on top of these matters, and no one singular piece of legislation is going to be a cure-all. But the government can do more; of that there should be no doubt
