Lyme Legislation & Legal Cases - Budget Amendment & 2 Other Bills 2019

Budget Amendment & Other Bills

They snuck another bad one in on us via the Maryland budget...

AND, a 3rd bill (we killed two bad bills already this session) that makes No sense- insurance coverage for standard Lyme tests? [HB 837]

AND a 4th bill for doctor protection (HB 455) that got an "unfavorable report" and was withdrawn from the initial House Committee.

Budget Amendment Info

The Maryland Board of Physicians [Medical Board] is to receive funding to create and offer, at no cost to professionals, a CME course on the "medical best practices and treatment for Lyme disease".

The course is to be developed in collaboration with a Maryland-based nonprofit accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education. [Yes, that includes the Board of Physicians working with their choice of Hopkins, University of Maryland, Med-Chi, National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, The Neurology Center, and other liked minded places that don't believe in chronic Lyme disease.]

The IDSA Lyme Guidelines are suppose to be published soon. The Board of Physicians- in conjunction with Hopkins and other like-minded people- have been trying to make the IDSA guidelines mandatory in Maryland for years. If NatCap Lyme/Susan Green/ILADS secretary hadn't messed with our previous doctor protection agreement (best in the country) and pushed legislators to have it rewritten to be the worst in the country, we wouldn't be stuck in the bottom of the pickle barrel right now.

The Board, with all of its weight and power- and now funding to develop policy and CME courses on Lyme disease- will now be able to make IDSA guidelines and their diagnostic and treatment methods mandatory. [Heaven help us all when the new vaccine comes to market since Hopkins and the others all support it. BTW- it was once made mandatory in Maryland years ago for outdoor workers.]

M00B0104

Health Professionals Boards and Commissions

Maryland Department of Health

Budget Amendments

REGULATORY SERVICES M00B01.06 Maryland Board of Physicians

Add the following language to the special fund appropriation:

, provided that $150,000 of this appropriation made for the purpose of general administration may not be expended for that purpose and instead may only be used to provide the following separate continuing medical education courses that are to be made available at no cost to participants:

(1) medical best practices for individuals with sickle-cell disease and education related to identifying the sickle-cell trait and the medical services necessary for individuals with the sickle-cell trait;
(2) opioid use disorder with a focus on addiction treatment, the risks associated with the use of opioids, and instruction on how to communicate information with patients on opioids and the risks associated with opioids; and
(3) medical best practices and treatment for Lyme disease.

The continuing medical education courses shall be developed in collaboration with aMaryland-based nonprofit accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education. [See list below.]

Funds not used for this restricted purpose may not be transferred by budget amendment or otherwise and shall be canceled. Further provided that the Maryland Board of Physicians may process a budget amendment to offset the use of these funds once the continuing medical education courses have been developed.

Explanation: The language restricts funds in the appropriation for the Maryland Board of Physicians for the development of three separate continuing medical education programs that are to be offered at no cost.

Amendment No. 28

House Appropriations Committee – Operating Budget, March 2018

PAGE 72- Link Here- http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/ess06-pubs/House/APP/Budget_2018_SB185.pdf

Partial List Below

Maryland Accredited Non-Profits for CME's

Full list here http://www.accme.org/publications/list-all-currently-accredited-cme-providers

National Foundation for Infectious Diseases

Johns Hopkins Medical Center

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

National Medical Association

Navy Medicine Professional Development

Med-Chi- Ft. George Meade