There will be a hearing at the State House today at 1 p.m., in room 427 on LD 1521, which regards Lyme disease and the problems patients have in being denied testing or treatment, being given limited insurance coverage, or being denied certain strong antibiotics.

Insurance companies are giving doctors directives on how to test and treat patients, with slow, step-by-step procedures, which is denying the patient and doctor the right to decide on a course of action to combat the illness. The suggested protocols don’t take into account how seriously ill a patient is, or how advanced the disease inside the patient might be.

More needs to be done to educate medical personnel and the public, to protect our children, and to get the insurance companies out of the diagnosing/prescribing business, without ever having seen the patient.

I encourage people to attend the hearing to show support for all of those folks out there fighting for their lives, and to protect the doctors who are strong enough to stand up to the insurance companies and do what is in the best interests of their patients.

Lyme disease is devastating to every family that faces it. By attending that public hearing, people are showing support for those family members and friends who are being harmed.

Nancy Flick, Turner

Copy the Story Link