I pasted the entire Poughkeepsie Journal editorial below because it contains important NYS legislator contact information at the end. PLEASE go to the Poughkeepsie Journal and help to get the word out by sharing this article with your Facebook friends. Also thank the Journal for once again supporting Lyme patients and their physicians.
After reading the editorial, I called NYS Senator Hannon's office. I was told that they received a lot of calls on Friday! Putting the pressure on Chairman Hannon is essential to getting our bill out of the NYS Senate Health Committee and onto a floor vote before the current NYS legislative session ends on June 20th.
Many of the NYS LLMDs are some of the most experienced in the field. As such they treat patients and train physicians from all over the world. They are also some of the most outspoken in terms of standing up for the rights of Lyme patients everywhere. ALL of the more-well-known physicians have been investigated by the NYS (Office of Professional MisConduct) in the last 18 months, some of them more than once. Even if no charges are actually filed, each investigation costs a physician tens of thousands of dollars.
So I encourage anyone who reads this to at least call NYS Senator Hannon’s office.
For those who want to do more, I will be posting the contact information for the other NYS Senate Health Committee members below the Poughkeepsie Journal editorial
KarlaL
State must help doctors in Lyme fight
Poughkeepsie Journal Editorial Board 7:17 p.m. EDT May 29, 2014
The state must take the necessary steps to help doctors in the fight against Lyme disease
With precious time remaining, state senators must see the wisdom of joining their Assembly colleagues in helping those suffering from Lyme disease but, in some cases, can't even get help from their doctors.
The situation is outrageous; it can be fixed.
The state Assembly, in fact, has passed a bill that would empower physicians to prescribe long-term antibiotic therapy to a patient with symptoms of chronic Lyme disease. But the bill has not yet cleared the Senate Health Committee, part of the process to get it to full-floor vote. The chairman of that committee, Kemp Hannon, R-Garden City, Nassau County, must see the wisdom of taking prompt action. Two local senators — Greg Ball, R-Patterson, and William Larkin, R-Cornwall-on-Hudson — also serve on that committee and should use their influence to see this legislation get through the process.
This bill was passed unanimously in the Assembly and, about a decade ago, legislation with similar intent made it through both legislative chambers but was vetoed by then-Gov. George Pataki.
Lyme patients deserve far more support. Many of these patients have been dealing with serious health problems, including damage to the nervous system.
Specifically, the bill — sponsored by Didi Barrett, D-Hudson, in the Assembly and being sponsored by Terry Gipson, D-Rhinebeck, in the Senate — would halt the stifling scenario of having physicians face disciplinary actions from the state for treating patients who show symptoms of Lyme disease but test negative. As Assembly Health Committee Chairman Richard N. Gottfried noted during the passage of the bill in the Assembly, "Lyme is an extremely complex illness to test for, and symptoms vary among patients."
Despite repeated pleas, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been reluctant to sanction more aggressive treatments for chronic Lyme disease. But it's become perfectly clear that doctors should be given more leeway to, in consultation with their patients, make medical judgments without fear of an unwarranted investigation by insurers and licensing boards.
The state must take these final steps on behalf of suffering patients who need not only reasons to hope but doctors freed to carry out their work.
• To contact Chairman Kemp Hannon, write to The Capitol Room 420, Albany, NY 12247, call 518-455-2200, or email hannon@ nysenate.gov.
Additional Information:
Please call the members of the NYS Senate Health Committee listed below. 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".
This list was compiled by Lyme Action Network 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 (week-day) 516-739-1700 (week-end)
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
-------------------- KarlaL Posts: 694 | From New Lebanon, NY | Registered: Dec 2010
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