NEWS: Touchdown! NY Lyme bill heads to governor for signature
Bill protecting longer Lyme treatments heads to Cuomo.
From the Poughkeepsie Journal, June 19, 2014
By John Ferro
A bill that would protect doctors who prescribe longer antibiotic treatments for Lyme disease is headed to Gov. Andrew Cuomo for his signature.
The bill cleared its final hurdle in the state Legislature on Thursday.
It allows for flexibility of treatment protocols, including antibiotic care for chronic Lyme disease lasting more than four weeks, by protecting doctors from charges of medical misconduct.
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Tags : New York Lyme legislation
It’s not over until it’s over! Ten years ago, a similar bill was vetoed by Governor Pataki. All interested readers should call Governor Cuomo and urge him to sign S7854, (518) 474-8390.
The Press Release and Report by the NYS Senate State Lyme Disease Task Force is astounding in its breath of important initiatives proposed for combating this scourge. I am posting links to both below. Our work is just beginning to hold the NYS legislature to its commitment on these important initiatives, including addressing insurance denials and the need to update our physicians on important new research, such as evidence that supports persistence of infection and polymicrobial infection as reason that many patients remain ill after short-term treatment.
One particular interest of mine is the fact that many of the innovative new tests that are available to Lyme patients in all of the other 50 states are denied to NYS residents. As a result of this short-sighted policy, I had to go out-of-state to get many important tests that helped our physicians to properly diagnose and treat the multiple tick-borne illnesses affecting my family members. The Senate Task Force Report recommends that “the Department of Health re-evaluate the tests and facilities it authorizes for Lyme and other Tick-Borne diseases in order to help facilitate earlier diagnoses, and better outcomes, across the State.”
New Task Force Report & Recommendations to Address Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases
Posted by Majority Press on Wednesday, June 18th, 2014
http://www.nysenate.gov/press-release/senate-releases-task-force-report-recommendations-address-lyme-and-tick-borne-diseases
Report from the Senate Majority Coalition Task Force On Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases
http://www.nysenate.gov/files/pdfs/2014_LYME_task_force_report_0.pdf