It's time!! House Bill 1326 has been assigned to the Senate Executive Departments and Administration Committee. We do not yet have a hearing date, but will alert you as soon as we do. At that time we will also ask those of you who are able, to come to Concord to bear witness to the hearing and/or briefly share your stories with our state senators.
What Can You Do Now?
Call Your Senator!
At this point, we would like the Lyme community to begin contacting their state senators asking them to support House Bill 1326. You can use the enclosed talking points (see below) to help clarify your statements, or refer to the enclosed phone and email scripts (below). It is best to speak by phone to your senators instead of emailing them, as they receive so many emails each day. If you would like to follow up your phone call with an email, it is imperative to note that you are from that senator’s district. Please be respectful about the hour of day you call, and the amount of time you take.
Hello, may I please speak to ________ . I am calling to ask you to support New Hampshire House Bill 1326, which will give doctors the freedom to use all of their skills and training to assist Lyme patients without fear of retribution.
House Bill 1326 does NOT legislate medical care or carve out exemptions for doctors. It simply states that prescription of long-term antibiotics for Lyme patients, in and of itself, is insufficient grounds for a medical board investigation. House Bill 1326 is also a reaffirmation of the legislature’s commitment to strong relationships between doctors and patients giving our physicians the freedom of choice to make Lyme-disease related treatment decisions on a case-by-case basis.
HB 1326 does NOT prohibit the board of medicine’s ability to oversee physicians. Nothing in HB 1326 protects physicians who are negligent in treating patients. HB 1326 simply clarifies that the prescription of long-term antibiotics, in and of itself, is insufficient grounds for a medical board investigation. Removing this physician concern opens the door for patients to receive expanded treatment information and options, and honors patient choice.
I believe the New Hampshire House of Representatives did the right thing when they passed this bill 300-56 and trust the Senate will do the same. Please know that I am not asking you to do something that has not been done before. I AM asking you to address what has become one of our country’s fastest public health care threats. Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and California have already enacted legislation to protect the rights of physicians to treat Lyme disease patients with long-term antibiotics based on their clinical evaluation. I am asking that you now do the same for New Hampshire residents like myself.
Thank you for your time.
YOU CAN FOLLOW YOUR PHONE CALL WITH AN EMAIL:
SAMPLE LETTER:
Copy and paste the letter below OR draft your own letter and use it.
Dear Senator ___________,
I am writing to ask you to support House Bill 1326. This bill will give New Hampshire doctors the freedom to use all of their skills and training to assist Lyme patients without fear of retribution.
We live in the state with the highest reported incidence of Lyme disease in the country. We must respond to this public health epidemic by allowing physicians in our state to provide treatment to their patients based on individualized clinical evaluation, without fear of retaliation from state medical boards. Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island and California have already passed similar legislation, and Virginia, Massachusetts and Minnesota are reviewing bills with the same purpose.
Although there are two standards of care, the New Hampshire Health and Human Services website still links to only one. Like patients who suffer from other diseases, it is important that physicians in New Hampshire tell patients about all available treatment options, as required by the American Medical Association.
Too many of your constituents are refused long-term treatment in New Hampshire and must cross state lines to find Lyme-literate doctors who will treat chronic Lyme disease based on a clinical evaluation. Many of these Granite State residents, once seriously disabled by Lyme or tick-borne diseases, have seen significant improvement with long-term antibiotic treatment. It is time we support New Hampshire physicians who seek to provide treatment for Lyme and other tick-borne diseases based on their own clinical training and research of medical-based evidence.
To do so opens the door for patients to receive expanded treatment options and information, an individualized approach to care, and honors patient choice. Patients who are diagnosed with cancer, back pain, etc. actually have more treatment options available to them than Lyme patients. I believe House Bill 1326 actually extends the medical board’s mission of protection to Lyme patients and the physicians caring for them and, thus, serves the public good.
Thank you in advance for giving serious and thoughtful consideration to this bill. Please know I am available to speak with you about my own story at any time.
___________________________ (your name)
(your district)
(your contact information)
TALKING POINTS:
To Be Used as Reference by the Lyme Community
H
ouse bill 1326 is an act related to the use of long-term antibiotics for the treatment of Lyme disease. The bill authorizes licensed physicians to prescribe long-term antibiotics for therapeutic purposes to patients diagnosed with Lyme. HB 1326 protects physicians’ rights to determine the most appropriate treatment protocol for their patients based on individualized clinical evaluation.
New Hampshire currently has the highest reported incidence of Lyme disease in the United States.
Source: Centers for Disease Control, 2009
Rockingham, Strafford and Hillsborough counties report the highest number of Lyme disease cases in the state. In 2007, more than 70 percent of the ticks tested in these counties were infected with the bacteria that causes Lyme, putting residents in those counties at greater risk of contracting Lyme.Source: NH Dept. of Health and Human Services
Many New Hampshire residents suffer on-going neurological and physical effects from Lyme or tick-borne diseases that make it difficult or impossible for them to work, drive or continue life as they once knew it. The long-term cost of Lyme disease to families, school systems, the health care system and the economy is astounding. According to a study published in 1993 in Contingencies, an actuarial trade publication, the average treatment and diagnosis and lost wages related to Lyme or tick-borne diseases was $61,688 per year per patient. Source: Lyme Disease Association
Children are in the highest risk category for contracting the disease. A CDC study indicates that children with chronic Lyme in one state have a median school absence of 140 days. Columbia University reports that children suffering from chronic Lyme see significant drops in IQ as a result. Scores of New Hampshire students diagnosed with Lyme are currently on Section 504-plans and IEPs to help them maintain their school work despite lengthy absences. Many miss months and years of school. Source: Centers for Disease Control, Columbia University, NH Testimony
Background
There are currently two standards of treatment for Lyme disease, though New Hampshire’s Health and Human Services’ website links to only one. The Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) states that there is no such thing as chronic Lyme and that the disease is successfully treated in most cases with 28 days of antibiotics, and that those labeled with chronic Lyme gain no benefit from additional doses of antibiotics. The International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS) asserts that Lyme can be chronic and its doctors determine the duration of treatment based on individualized clinical evaluation. Both ILADS and IDSA viewpoints are reflected in peer reviewed “evidence-based” guidelines.
When more than one standard of care exists, the critical question becomes who decides the appropriate course of treatment for the patient. The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services only links to the IDSA guidelines, limiting public healthcare choice to one option. Under the medical ethical principle of autonomy, the treatment decision belongs to the patient. The American Medical Association (AMA) requires that the physician disclose and discuss with the patient not only the risks and benefits of the proposed treatment, but also the risks and benefits of available alternative treatments.
A challenging political climate has translated into medical board actions against physicians nationwide for prescribing long-term Lyme disease treatment (ILADS vs IDSA guidelines). This has had a chilling effect on the number of Lyme-literate physicians who are trained and/or are willing to treat this complicated disease. As a result, New Hampshire residents�''and those around the country�''get sicker.
If Lyme disease is left untreated or not treated aggressively, it can have far-reaching implications�''not only for patients’ health, but also for healthcare costs, disability compensation and worker productivity. These costs far exceed the expense of paying for therapeutic antibiotics to treat the infection and its symptoms.
Many of New Hampshire’s sickest residents travel across state borders to find physicians who are able and willing to treat Lyme disease based on individualized clinical evaluation. New Hampshire families need to ensure that physicians, insurers, patients and governmental agencies understand that two treatment approaches exist, and that physicians should be free to provide long-term antibiotic treatment when deemed clinically necessary.
H
ouse Bill 1326 does not legislate treatment. This bill contains language that will protect New Hampshire licensed Lyme-treating physicians from prosecution by the New Hampshire Board of Medicine solely on the basis of a clinical diagnosis and/or treatment of long-term Lyme disease. It allows a physician to prescribe, administer or dispense long-term antibiotic therapy to patients clinically diagnosed with Lyme or tick-borne diseases. It specifies that the Board of Medicine shall not initiate disciplinary action against a licensed physician solely for prescribing, administering or dispensing long-term antibiotic therapy to a patient clinically diagnosed with Lyme.
T
he single most important aspect of this legislation is that a physician can treat with antibiotics for more than four weeks without the fear of disciplinary action; a treatment that has been researched and supported by ILADS physicians and will provide necessary care for scores of New Hampshire residents afflicted with Lyme disease. This law will be a relief to New Hampshire families who will finally be able to receive care in the Granite State; it offers hope that more physicians who are knowledgeable about Lyme disease will be encouraged to practice within the state of New Hampshire.
P
lease support New Hampshire House Bill 1326. We thank you in advance for your willingness to give thoughtful consideration to this serious health concern that affects so many of your constituents.
Thanks to all of you who are helping with the passage of this important legislation.
Our Best,
The New Hampshire Lyme Legislation Committee
Posted by lou (Member # 81) on :
Best of luck.
All New Hampshirites (could that be right?) are needed. And if you live elsewhere and know someone in NH who could act, please contact them.