A Lyme doctor protection bill has passed the NY Assembly. An identical bill is now stalled in the Senate Health Committee, where previous versions have been left to expire.

From New York’s Lyme Action Network:

As I’m sure you are aware, there is a small army of doctors, patients, and advocates who have been doing very heavy lifting this year trying to get some good legislation through the NYS Senate and Assembly to help Lyme patients and their doctors.

We’re happy to report that the State Assembly passed a bill on May 13, protecting our Lyme doctors from the intrusive and unwarranted “investigations” of the OPMC. The bill was passed without opposition.

The identical bill is in the Senate Health Committee where previous Lyme bills have been ignored and allowed to die.

We need for this year to be different. We NEED the Health Committee to report this bill out of committee and let it go to the floor for a vote.

We have done everything we can do. NOW IT’S YOUR TURN. These senators have heard us, and they are telling us that they want to hear from YOU. It will now be up to the Lyme population of New York State to get this “Doctor Protection” bill passed.

This bill prevents the Office of Professional Medical Conduct from unwarranted “investigations of physicians just because they treat with longer-term antibiotics. As you’ve heard Holly explain (maybe many times), the borrelia is a “stealth” pathogen and does not respond to antibiotics in the same manner as “frontal” pathogens, like strep, do. Sometimes longer-term abx are required, and the patient and their doctor, not the OPMC, should be making those decisions.

We are going to turn this final push over to you. The first thing we need to do is get this bill out of Committee. Below you will find full contact information for all members of the Senate Health Committee. We urge you to contact ALL the members of this committee – PREFERABLY MORE THAN ONCE – to lobby them to pass this bill. Call them weekly TO CHECK ON THE PROGRESS OF THE BILL. If you’re close to any of them, ask to come in to discuss this matter with them. There are only a few weeks left in the session. If they get a few calls, they will ignore you. If they get 1000 every week, they won’t. Leverage your anger by enlisting at least one or two or three others to also call to support YOU. Make these calls count! Forward this email to everybody who will help you.

If this bill dies in Committee, as have ALL its predecessors, we’ll have to start at square one all over again next year.

Please call these senators (below) who are on the Senate Health Committee. You can say this:

“My name is ________ and I’m calling to ask Senator _______ to vote to move Senate bill #05520B to the floor, and then to vote for its passage. I (my child, husband, wife, etc) am a Lyme victim, and we want to have the right to choose our preferred standard of care and choose which doctors we want to treat us without the doctors being threatened with unwarranted “investigations”.

Also send them emails telling them your Lyme stories. They need to know what this illness does to families. They need to hear from the people who are the victims of this state’s policies on Lyme disease.

The ball’s now in your court! You guys GO FOR IT!! We know how mad you are about all this.
THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO REALLY GET IT DONE!!

We’ll keep you posted as the situation progresses. And go to our FB page to tell us how you’re making out with this project.

Best of luck,

Chris Fisk, Holly Ahern, and all the Board members of the Lyme Action Network.

This list was compiled by LAN Boardmember, Jeff Levy, for your convenience. (Thank you Jeff!)

NYS Senate Health Committee

Kemp Hannon, Chairman,
hannon@nysenate.gov
The Capitol Room 420
Albany, NY 12247
United States
518-455-2200

Greg Ball
gball@nysenate.gov
817 Legislative Office Building Empire State Plaza
Albany, NY 12247
United States
518-455-3111

Hugh T. Farley
Farley@nysenate.gov
188 State Street Room 711, Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
United States
518-455-2181

Simcha Felder
felder@nysenate.gov
944 Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
United States
518-455-2754

Martin J. Golden
golden@nysenate.gov
188 State Street Room 409, Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
United States
518-455-2730

Ruth Hassell-Thompson
hassellt@senate.state.ny.us
188 State Street Room 707 Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
United States
518-455-2061

Brad Hoylman
hoylman@nysenate.gov
Room 413, Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
United States
518-455-2451

William J. Larkin
larkin@senate.state.ny.us
188 State Street Room 502, Senate Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12247
United States
518-455-2770

Jack M. Martins
martins@nysenate.gov
Legislative Office Building, Room 946
Albany, NY 12247
United States
518-455-3265

Velmanette Montgomery
montgome@nysenate.gov
903 Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
United States
518-455-3451

Ted O’Brien
obrien@nysenate.gov
Legislative Office Building, Room 302
Albany, NY 12247
United States
518-455-2162

Jose Peralta
jperalta@nysenate.gov
188 State Street Room 415, Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
United States
518-455-2529

Gustavo Rivera
grivera@nysenate.gov
181 State Street, Room 408 LOB
Albany, NY 12247
United States
518-455-3395

Diane J. Savino
savino@senate.state.ny.us
188 State Street Room 315, Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
United States
518-455-2437

José M. Serrano
serrano@senate.state.ny.us
181 State Street Room 406, Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
United States
518-455-2795

James L. Seward
seward@nysenate.gov
172 State Street Room 430, Capitol
Albany, NY 12247
United States
518-455-3131

Catharine Young
cyoung@senate.state.ny.us
188 State Street Room 307 Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
United States
518-455-3563

The following link will take you a page where you can take ACTION!  

 https://www.votervoice.net/NYSCOALITION/Campaigns/36090/Respond

Once you are on the votervoice site, please scroll to the boxes at the bottom of the page.

1.   Enter your reasons for wanting this bill passed, such as: “I was sick for 5 years before I received proper diagnosis”, or “my child has been sick for 3 years”, ” I want the freedom to choose my doctor and  my treatment” , etc.

2.   Next, enter your email and zip code

3.   Click “Continue”

4.   Fill in the remaining info.

The Senate session ends June 20.  We don’t have much time.  Every effort you can make will help.

Thank you for helping us to help YOU!  We’re all in this together!