Lyme Disease Bill Gains Wide Support
View from the Hill
October 5, 2009
With the change of the seasons I thought it would be timely to bring you up-to-date on what has been happening with House Bill 1148, An Act Relative to the Treatment of Lyme Disease.
I believe this is the single most important piece of legislation that I have had the honor to file in the 15 years I have served the First Middlesex District in the House of Representatives. Once enacted, (and I sincerely hope that it will be enacted) this legislation will protect doctors, who prescribe long-term antibiotic treatments for their patients, from censure brought by medical boards and other professional organizations.
Connecticut enacted similar legislation in May, and our bill follows Connecticut´s lead.
The most frequently-asked question is: Why is this bill necessary?
This legislation is necessary because doctors who treat patients diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease with long-term antibiotic therapy are at risk for suffering professional censure from their medical examining boards — even when their patients get well!
Over the course of the past several months, I have been shocked to learn how political the treatment of disease can be — and to learn how many people have been diagnosed with this dreadful disease.
Lyme disease is endemic to Middlesex County. When I say "endemic," I mean that in 2008 there were 734 confirmed cases of Lyme disease in Middlesex County, an incident rate of 50 per 100,000 population. In my constituency, Groton had 47 reported cases, and an incident rate of 442 per 100,000 population. When you take into account that the Center for Disease Control estimates that only about 10 percent of the cases of Lyme disease are diagnosed and reported, these numbers reflect a lot of suffering. And all indications show that the numbers are going to be significantly higher for 2009.
The symptoms not only include rheumatoid arthritis, but can also mimic ALS, MS, Alzheimer´s, Parkinson´s and a host of other chronic and debilitating conditions. Many of my constituents have been forced to seek out-of-state doctors to treat them with long-term antibiotics therapy. The therapy works. The patients get better. Insurance companies won´t cover the therapy. As a result, many of the patients´ families are falling into bankruptcy.
I find it incredible that the Infectious Diseases Society of America along with the Center for Disease Control (CDC) doesn´t believe there is such a thing as chronic Lyme disease. The other problem is that the test for Lyme disease is notoriously unreliable. Some research points to the possibility that the bacteria introduced by the deer tick attacks the immune system and shuts down the body´s natural defenses.
The hearing before the Joint Committee on Public Health on September 22 was packed with doctors and with people who are being treated for chronic Lyme disease.
This is the third time this issue has come before the Joint Committee on Public Health. The other two bills died in committee. I hope the third time is the charm: that this bill will come out of committee to be presented for a vote before my peers in the House and the Senate.
I am basing my optimism on the fact that 28 representatives and senators have co-signed the bill. They represent every geographical corner of the Commonwealth and every political stripe between conservative Republican and liberal Democrat. That is because so many of them have first-hand experience with this horrible disease.
I think the hearing went very well. The next step is to get the bill out of committee and into the hands of the Representatives in the House and the Senate for their vote.
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As I write this, it seems that Pan Am Railroad is being brought to heel by the courts. In its haste to begin construction on a car and truck off-loading facility near the Ayer-Littleton town line, Pan Am Railroad blatantly disregarded various mandated environmental safeguards. As most of my readers know, this project involves paving over a major aquifer that supplies drinking water to Ayer and Littleton. Over the past 10 years, the railroad has skillfully maneuvered around all efforts to block this project. When a Consent Decree tied the hands of the Ayer Selectmen, my office became very active in the initiation of these actions. We are all waiting to see what happens next.
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Before I sign off, I want to remind you of my 16th annual "Hoedown" will take place from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. on Friday, October 30, at the Pepperell VFW Hall. I am looking forward to seeing you there.
