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Hello Lyme family. This is the only way we can help ourselves to get some action. We really need to bombard the congress with our letter and our voices for those who can not because of this dreadful disease. Lets make a difference. This was sent to me from my LLMD. She is wonderful and wants us to yell as loud as we can about our stories. Please please take time and help yourselves and or friend or family members so they understand this disease is becoming the silent epidemic without MDs knowing and wanting to treat patients because of the strick guide lines. Thank you all and a blessed day. your family member, terri
Subject FW: [CaliforniaLyme] Federal Bills - push THIS WEEK! LDA will do PR on supporters Terri maybe you can forward this on to your ``Lyme list''.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Folks, here's the letter. Address it to your own US Congressperson and email it. Add your own story if you want, emphasizing COSTS, DISABILITY, LOSS OF EMPLOYMENT, INSURANCE DENIALS. Find your own rep at http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/ If you want (and maybe even better than email) CALL and ask to speak with the health aide in the Washington DC office and mention the points below. They do like to hear from us and the more people that call, the better chance we have of moving them. The appeal is timed before the elections so they will be more responsive to calls from constituents. Do it today! Here's a sample letter (change it as you like):
The Honorable ___________ U.S. House of Representatives
RE: The Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease Prevention, Education and Research Act of 2005, HR 3427
Dear Representative ________,
Do you support research and education directed at halting tick borne diseases? This is the time to show constituents where you stand.
October 20^th , The Lyme Disease Association, will be hosting its 7^th annual Lyme & Other Tick-Borne Diseases conference. Medical professionals, Support Group leaders, Lyme Advocates and patients from all over the country will be attending. LDA will post co-sponsors for HR 3427 by state and would like to include your name on this list. In addition, there will be a press release around that time and significant e-mail outreach to the Lyme community listing co sponsors for this bill. I hope you will take a few minutes to review this bill and take action now. Join your colleagues. Contact Tim Lynagh (Office of bill Sponsor Rep. Chris Smith) at extension 53765 and sign on as a co sponsor today!
H.R. 3427 (Smith/Kelly), companion to S. 1479 (Dodd/Santorum), is supported by over 100 patient and professional groups and notables such as internationally acclaimed author Amy Tan. Besides creating a federal task force on Lyme disease, this legislation will fund research to develop a definitive test, improve treatment, and address education and prevention strategies. It provides $20 million a year for the next five years for this vastly under-funded disease found in 49 states and the District of Columbia.
_Did you know?_ 1. Lyme disease is the most prevalent vector-borne disease in the country today.
2. According to a study published in 1993 in /Contingencies/, an actuarial trade publication, the cost to society for Lyme disease was about one billion dollars per year. Cases have doubled since then, so today's costs are probably $2 billion or more annually.
3. According to the contingencies study, the average treatment and diagnosis and lost wages related to Lyme disease is $61,688 per year per patient.
4. The effects on students can be staggering, ranging from a CDC study reporting of median school absences of 140 days in New Jersey to a Columbia University Medical Center study reporting a 22-point drop in IQ.
5. In 2005 the CDC reported 23,305 cases of Lyme disease nationwide, but recognizes that, at best, this represents only 10% of actual cases, and the rate continues to grow alarmingly, an 18% increase in 2005 alone. Federal funding set aside to prevent and treat Lyme disease was only $33.6 million. Compare this to the 2,539 cases of West Nile Virus with total federal funding of $77.6 million. Why is $1,697, at most, being spent per Lyme case and $30,563 being spent per West Nile Virus case?
I hope you are as shocked by these facts as I was when I first learned of them!
Currently, there is no guaranteed cure for chronic Lyme disease and complications from co-infections create compound treatment problems. There are more questions than answers when it comes to tick-borne illnesses, and improvements in diagnosis and treatment have been significantly hampered by competing interests in both the private and government sectors. This is the reason the bill's Task Force is so important.
You are in a position right now to take action and help find solutions to the devastation caused by ticks and the diseases they spread. I hope you will take a few minutes to review this bill and take action now. Join your colleagues. Please call Tim Lynagh (Office of bill Sponsor Rep. Chris Smith) at extension 53765 and support HR 3427. -- "The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlive it." - William James
Posts: 45 | From Redlands, Calif | Registered: Aug 2006
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bettyg
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Terri, thanks for posting; amazing your LLMD sent you this letter!
We all have been working VERY HARD on these 2 bills too. Sign thelyme petition I sent you in my newbie's links/advise. Bettyg
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Hello Lyme family. This is the only way we can help ourselves to get some action. We really need to bombard the congress with our letter and our voices for those who can not because of this dreadful disease. Lets make a difference. This was sent to me from my LLMD. She is wonderful and wants us to yell as loud as we can about our stories. Please please take time and help yourselves and or friend or family members so they understand this disease is becoming the silent epidemic without MDs knowing and wanting to treat patients because of the strick guide lines. Thank you all and a blessed day. your family member, terri![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
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