Lyme Handbook

GROTON — “Lyme Disease in Massachusetts: A Public Health Crisis” is the title of the April 2011 report issued by the chairman of the House of Representatives, David Linsky, and Vice Chairman Benjamin Swan.

State Rep. Sheila Harrington is one of nine additional members of the Committee who came to this conclusion. “The occurrence of Lyme disease has reached near epidemic proportions in Massachusetts,” states Linsky in his cover letter for the report. To address this issue, the Committee has called for a state-chartered commission to convene, in order to bring medical experts, wildlife management, public health officials, and insect control together with patients and advocates to propose solutions to the treatment, prevention and education of Lyme disease. One of the key objectives is to create and approve legislation mandating insurance coverage for long-term antibiotic treatment for chronic Lyme, an issue that Lyme-disease victims have been fighting for years. Lyme disease has affected every city and town in the commonwealth, with hundreds of citizens affected by its debilitating symptoms. This bill has been attached as an outside amendment to the budget, which has already been approved by the House of Representatives. It still requires approval by the State Senate and the governor.

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