Subject: New York State Update on Protecting our Medical Care

since Governor Pataki vetoed the OPMC Reform bill last December, there has been much work going on behind the scenes on two separate, but complementary, fronts.

1. MEETING WITH THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE: In February, Pat Smith and Brian Fallon met in Albany with the Governor's office in a meeting arrangedÝ and attended by Assemblymembers Nettie Mayersohn, Joel Miller and Adam Bradley.Ý

   The purpose of the meeting was to urge the Governor to intervene directly to protect Lyme doctors from OPMC harassment.

   Pat Smith made the case that there is now new evidence that the OPMC needs to consider:Ýnewly publishedÝILADS guidelines; and acceptance of the guidelinesÝby the National Guidelines Clearing House which is under the auspices of HHS. These facts support that there are two accepted standards of care for Lyme disease.Ý The ILADS Guidelines support the kind of treatment for which the OPMC has been persecuting our doctors!

   Dr Fallon presented material concerning the NIH study results which is researchÝthat supports the concept of long term treatment contained in the guidelines.Ý

   Thus, the OPMC should not be permitted to penalize physicians for prescribing long term antibiotic treatment.

   Pat was able to give the Governor's office an idea of what is happening politically nationwide and possible ways that our physicians could be protected if an OPMC Reform bill cannot be passed.

   As a result of this meeting,Ý language is now being worked out for an agreement that could protect our doctors.Ý We hope to know whether this is successful within the next few weeks.

   Those of youÝ who have been with us from the beginning of this fight know that Governor Pataki would not even read letters from Lyme patients when we started.Ý Now your activism has brought us to the point that he recognizes that he has to do something to help us.Ý

2. OPMC REFORM BILL RESUBMITTED TO STATE LEGISLATURE:: After the Governor vetoed the bill last year, Monica Miller (the lobbyist from FAIM who has been working with us since the beginning) and Richard Gottfried (author of the bill and head of the Assembly health committee) were able to view the memos sent to the Governor asking him to veto the bill.Ý (Legally these could not be viewed until after the veto.)

   The memos asking the Governor to veto did NOT complain about any parts of the bill that are essential to protect our Lyme doctors.

   Thus, the bill has been rewritten this year to include those parts which will protect our doctors and will not draw opposittion from the various interest groups that apparently pushed the Governor to veto last year.

   The bill is still in the bill drafting committee.Ý It should be out soon, and I'll send it out to you so we can all read it

   Those of you who were bummed out by the Governor's veto last year might take heart in knowing that the average time for a bill to become law in NYS is THREE TO FIVE YEARS.Ý

   Last year was the third year of our bill .

BTW, today I heard the head of the State Senate say that things were getting better in Albany.ÝÝ Since NYS government has been rated one of the worst in the country, this would be great new if its true.

Thank you to all who have fought for so long. Hang in there a while longer.Ý OurÝ activism hasÝ stopped the OPMC from moving ahead against any of our doctors. Now we just need to have it made official.

Thanks, Ellen