The Honorable Thomas Middleton, Chairman SB 926
Honorable Members of the Senate Finance Committee
February 9, 2016
OPPOSE – Senate Bill 926 Lyme Disease - Laboratory Test - Required Notice
Dear Honorable Senator Middleton and Committee Members,
Having educated and assisted residents of this State for the past several decades with their Lyme and tick borne disease issues, we approach your Committee to share our views on what is apparently becoming a regular occurrence at this point, the introduction of another problematic Lyme disease related bill.
In August 2015, I was contacted by SB 926 companion bill’s (HB 399) sponsor, Delegate Afzali. We discussed several ideas she was considering for a bill she hoped to introduce in an attempt to “do something” about the Lyme situation. I thanked her for her caring, asked at that time no bills be introduced, provided her with multiple resources clarifying our position, asked her to contact us at any time and advised her that we sincerely felt we needed to educate, not legislate.
After we heard nothing further we suddenly learned HB 399 & its companion bill, SB 926, had been introduced. Unfortunately, we were never informed by the Honorable Senator Ronald Young about his bill. Had we been, we would have been pleased to discuss our position with him before he introduced it.
In the meantime, I’d consulted with our support groups, doctors and patients about my original conversation with Delegate Afzali and contacted a Maryland Board of Physicians representative. Since then I’ve been working on a plan to improve our situation that will hopefully be satisfactory to all parties. The new plan is based on an abolished policy statement once in effect in our State. It was originally proposed by our groups, then implemented and honored by the Board of Physicians (under Irving Pinder), the Maryland Task Force on Lyme Disease and Maryland DHMH. Work on this project is encouraging and still in progress.
Chairman Middleton, as you know Maryland is in desperate need of properly trained doctors to treat the growing number of chronically ill and disabled Lyme and tick borne disease patients. Alienating our health care providers now by passing a non-essential bill that forces them against their will to treat Lyme patients and Lyme tests differently than all other patients and their medical tests, and adding another set of regulations (red tape) to their load is just not the way to proceed. Our focus should be on helping our doctors, not hindering them.
Insurance coverage, flexible treatment guidelines and doctor education are major concerns, not the implementation of an ineffective law that failed to accomplish its goals in Virginia where it originated. SB 926 is based on the 2013 Virginia bill (H 1933) that passed (H 56/40, S 30/10) in an altered, generic form before reaching former Governor Bob McDonnell’s desk. It was highly contested.
Doctors across Virginia are still angry about the bill. Many refuse to comply and there is no incentive to do so as the bill failed to include any provisions for oversight or penalties. The Medical Society of Virginia was so disturbed, 828 individual members and various organizations contacted the Governor calling for a veto. As you can see below, numerous medical societies strongly opposed the bill and it was assaulted with amendments, substitutions and bad publicity.
Organizations Requesting Veto in Virginia- The American Academy of Pediatrics, Virginia Chapter, American College of Physicians, Virginia Chapter, Infectious Disease Society of America, Psychiatric Society of Virginia, Virginia Academy of Family Physicians, Virginia Academy of Physician Assistants, Virginia College of Emergency Physicians, Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners, Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association Virginia Orthopaedic Society, Virginia Society of Eye Physicians and Surgeons, and the Virginia Society of Otolaryngologists.
• 3/14—Virginian Pilot letter to the editor, Doctors, not legislators by Mitch Miller, M.D.
• 3/9—Daily Press op-ed, Who'll make your health care calls? by Sterling N. Ransone Jr., M.D.
• 3/8—Virginia Pilot article, Doctors say state is meddling with Lyme disease bill quoting Sterling N. Ransone Jr., M.D., FAAFP
• 3/4—Roanoke Times letter to the editor, Pick of the Day: General Assembly’s overreach by Catherine Lesko Daniel, M.D.
• 3/2—Richmond Times Dispatch op-ed, Libby: Legislators should stay out of exam room by Russell C. Libby, M.D.
You have to ask yourself why anyone would come to Maryland to push a bill they know failed miserably in Virginia, and one that required further legislative actions to try to fix it? We don’t know. Quote from NatCap Lyme (DC) about their “Fix-It” bill (HB 962) submitted in VA this past year (failed to pass)- "Here is why HB 962 is important: In 2013 Lyme patients helped to pass a Virginia law that requires medical professionals who order a Lyme test to disclose in writing, that these tests are known to be problematic and can produce false negatives. NatCapLyme has learned that many health care providers are not following this law." Link Here
I respectfully request you and your Committee review our attached ‘OPPOSE SB 926 Fact Sheet’ and as a result vote SB 926 UNFAVORABLE. Thank you Chairman Middleton and your Committee members and staff for your consideration. We are grateful for any support you can provide, always.
Have a productive and delightful session, and don’t forget, do a tick check!
Sincerely,
Lucy Barnes, Director
Lyme Disease Education and Support Groups of Maryland
631 Railroad Avenue
Centreville, MD 21617
OPPOSE SB 926
Lyme Disease- Laboratory Tests- Written Notice
Existing tests from commercial labs already bear disclaimer warnings stating results may yield false negatives, requiring additional testing.
SB 926 speaks to unspecified Lyme tests when a variety of Lyme tests are currently on the market and more will be released in the near future.
Lyme patients and their families would have their ability/rights to take legal actions (malpractice) against doctors "shut down" if SB 926 passes.
The bill fails to address monitoring issues, a plan to notify health care professionals, a sunset clause and the proper oversight to be effective.
A 2012 Maryland bill addressing Lyme tests (SB 891) was introduced by the same supporters behind SB 926, was OPPOSED by Med-Chi, was reported UNFAVORABLE and never advanced out of the 1st Committee.
Physicians have rightfully complained that medical knowledge changes quickly and SB 926 will prevent them from moving forward as testing improves. Examples of improved tests since 2013- Advanced Lab, IGeneX
Informing the public Lyme tests are not always accurate has always been a top priority for all of us for 20+ years and has been publicly reported by the Centers for Disease Control, the IDSA, University of Maryland, local news articles and all of our Support Groups across the State and nation.
For many years, Lyme disease related bills have, without exception, been altered as they moved through the legislative process with a result that has been undesirable and/or detrimental to us.
The promoters of this bill have a history of bouncing from state to state attempting to get questionable Lyme bills passed: 2010-HB 2 requiring mandatory reporting when it already exists; 2010- HB 290- Lyme doctor protection bill opposed by Lyme doctors;2010- HB 798- 2nd task force after the previous task force recently released its final report; 2012- HB 1168- declare May Lyme awareness month when it had been for 20 plus years; 2012- SB 891 Lyme test bill; 2016- HB 399- another Lyme test bill. Virginia bills in 2010- HB 36 requiring mandatory reporting when it already exists and HB 512, HB 897, HB 1017, HB 1288 again, requiring mandatory reporting when it exists; 2013- HB 1933- Lyme testing bill.
There are many pressing issues to pursue regarding Lyme disease. At this time we prefer to educate our doctors, not legislate them. Thank you.
Lucy Barnes, Director