Winding road to Lyme insurance coverage in Massachusetts Massachusetts requires insurance companies to provide coverage for Lyme disease treatment.

By Dorothy Kupcha Leland

O n Sunday July 31, in the final minutes of the 2015-2016 legislative session, Massachusetts state lawmakers passed a measure requiring insurance companies to provide coverage for Lyme disease treatment.

Similar bills proposed in earlier years had been stopped in their tracks without getting very far. The road to this groundbreaking event was not smooth, but instead fraught with political twists and turns. Passing this law was the culmination of meticulous collaboration among legislators, Lyme disease advocates, and the Lyme patient community in Massachusetts. In fact, the foundation was laid years before, as advocates began the painstaking process of educating legislators about the complex issues facing people with Lyme disease.

A key player was Representative David Linsky, father of a son who had contracted Lyme disease in high school. Linsky had first-hand knowledge of how devastating the disease can be and understood the financial toll it takes on families. As a legislator, he also heard from many constituents affected by Lyme and other tick-borne infections. In 2011, the House Committee on Post Audit and Oversight, of which he is chair, called for the formation of a state commission to look into the problem…… Join or login below to continue reading.

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3 Reader Comments

  1. GOOD ON YOU MASS RESIDENTS! This appeared an insurmountable task, yet you did it. I admire tenacious people.

  2. Great to see that bills like this are taking a stand and making a difference! Now it is time to push this with all the other states. Please people and Lymesdisease.org, let’s make a big change for all Americans that suffer from this in all states!

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