Focus – Opinions and Features

Rhode Island is the only state in the country requiring health insurance companies to cover longterm intravenous antibiotic treatment for Lyme-disease patients, no strings attached. The process stretched out over several years, with the creation of a Governor's Commission on Lyme... Read More »

Rhode Island was the first state in the nation to pass legislation protecting doctors who treat people with chronic Lyme disease from prosecution by state medical boards solely for that treatment. Rhode Island was also the first – and to date, only – state to reach an agreement... Read More »

The Lyme drama of 2001 was not confined to Washington, DC. In May the New England Journal of Medicine expedited publication for the Klempner trial, and in June major urban newspapers trumpeted the headlines, “Antibiotics don’t cure chronic Lyme disease.” The Fallon study was in... Read More »

Legislation intended to combat problems associated with Lyme disease can help, or it can exacerbate the very problems that it is intended to address. LDA president Pat Smith and CALDA executive director Lorraine Johnson provide you with a framework to think about legislative... Read More »

In March 2001, as planned, Congressman Smith (NJ) introduced the third version of the Lyme Disease Initiative (HR1254 ). The language was almost identical to the language of the previous LDI. Then came the thunderbolt. Instead of introducing a companion version in the Senate, as... Read More »

Legislation intended to combat problems associated with Lyme disease can help, or it can exacerbate the very problems that it is intended to address. LDA president Pat Smith and CALDA executive director Lorraine Johnson provide you with a framework to think about legislative... Read More »

The Lyme Disease Initiative (LDI) of 1999 was 1,000 words longer than the 1998 version and packed with details from the community’s wish list. The Lyme wars had already begun. In July, 1999, a representative from the Office of Professional Medical Conduct, the doctor disciplinary... Read More »

Legislation intended to combat problems associated with Lyme disease can help, or it can exacerbate the very problems that it is intended to address. LDA president Pat Smith and CALDA executive director Lorraine Johnson provide you with a framework to think about legislative... Read More »

The first federal Lyme bill was introduced 11 years ago. The Lyme disease community still has not passed a federal Lyme bill. Why not? Learn about the history of Lyme legislation, the legislative process, and our own part in the drama. CALDA founder and president Phyllis Mervine... Read More »