Action Alert: Protect MA Physicians!

Please forward to everyone you know! While this action is needed from MA residents, supporters outside the state are urged to contact anyone they may know in MA to encourage their participation. Many thanks!

ACTION ALERT re: MASS. PHYSICIAN PROTECTION LEGISLATION

In Brief (detailed explanation available in next post):

The time has now come to contact Governor Deval Patrick! Language to protect physicians* who treat Lyme disease has been included in an outside section of the FY11 Budget.** Help us make the Governor aware of our (or a friend or family member’s) difficulties in finding appropriate treatment for Lyme disease in Massachusetts and our need for this legislation!

1. We must ALL urge Governor Patrick to sign the Budget, with this section intact. The IDSA has opposed this legislation at every turn and we fully expect that they will pressure Governor Patrick to veto this section of the Budget Bill. We have already been told that the Legislature will not have enough votes to overturn such a veto. Please send letters, fax, call or email Gov. Patrick (contact info below, including a sample and some tips for your letter) to let him know how important this is to so many of his constituents. Politicians DO take notice when they receive many letters and calls on the same topic – so help us get his attention!
   
   Governor Deval Patrick
   Massachusetts State House
   Office of the Governor
   Room 280 Boston, MA 02133
   Phone: 617.725.4005
               888.870.7770 (in state)
   Fax: 617.727.9725
   TTY: 617.727.3666
   
   Or use this link to email Gov. Patrick.
   
2. We have also been encouraged to contact the Commissioner of the Department of Public Health, John Auerbach (contact info below), as Governor Patrick is likely to seek his opinion on the matter. If you send a letter or fax to Gov. Patrick, you can just send a copy to Commissioner Auerbach as well. We need Commissioner Auerbach on our side.
   
   Commissioner John Auerbach
   Massachusetts Dept. of Public Health
   250 Washington Street
   Boston, MA 02108
   Telephone: (617) 624-6000
   TTY/TDD (617) 624-6001
   
   Or use this link to email Commissioner Auerbach.
   
3. It would also be helpful to send a copy of your letter to your own State Senator and State Representative (find yours at: http://www.mass.gov/legis/ ), so that they also are aware of the large number of us that want and need this legislation to pass. It is an election year, after all – and they can also urge the Governor to sign.
    
4. Trouble emailing or using the online form?
   Simply email a copy to lymebill@gmail.com 
   
   We will print and submit a hard copy of your letter to both  the Governor and Commissioner Auerbach. Again, you can send your letter to: lymebill@gmail.com

TIPS FOR YOUR LETTER TO THE GOVERNOR:
a) Please personalize your letter -- don’t just copy the sample and send it, if at all possible! Form letters are not taken as seriously as a personal letter. However, a form letter MUCH better than nothing, if that’s all you can manage right now.

b) Keep your letter brief and to the point—no more than one page! As much as we’d like them to, they won’t read all the way through our long, very sad and usually infuriating stories.

c) If you are writing about yourself, and particularly if you are writing about a child under 18, please consider the fact that this is not private correspondence. You do not need to mention your child’s name, your doctor’s name, or any specifics about your treatment.

d) Be sure to include your full name and address.

e) Good points to mention:

• If you (or a family member or friend) were unable to find a doctor in Massachusetts to diagnose or treat you appropriately for Lyme disease – and especially if any Massachusetts doctor indicated that they couldn’t or wouldn’t diagnose or treat you for Lyme disease because they were afraid of the consequences, or because they needed to follow the IDSA guidelines. Please don’t mention names.
  
• If you went to a physician out of state because of this.
  
• If long-term antibiotics helped you.
  
• If the delay in treatment caused additional health problems.
  
• It’s also good to mention the financial toll this has taken on you and your family overall.
  
• Your desire to be able to choose a treatment which is alternative to those prescribed in the IDSA guidelines.

SAMPLE LETTER TO GOVERNOR:

The Honorable Deval Patrick
Governor of Massachusetts
Massachusetts State House
Room 280
Boston, MA 02133

RE: Outside section of the Conference Committee Report of the FY11 Budget pertaining to long-term treatment of Lyme disease

Dear Governor Patrick:

I want to urge you to sign the FY11 Budget with the section pertaining to long-term treatment of Lyme disease intact. This is extremely important legislation for my family and our state.

(INSERT YOUR SHORT STORY HERE)

This Legislation will allow physicians to clinically diagnose a patient with Lyme disease and will enable very ill MA residents to choose treatment options that best meet their needs, while the medical community works to find better consensus on LD treatment guidelines. Please sign it into law and allow the citizens of Massachusetts a choice in the treatment of Lyme disease.

Sincerely,
Jane Doe
435 Maple Street
Anytown, MA 00022

If you would like a Microsoft Word template for this letter to be emailed to you, send an email to lymebill@gmail.com with the word ‘TEMPLATE’ in the subject field.