Vermont Health Care bill passes: When medicine and politics collide

Commentary: Lyme health care comes back to Vermont. The Lyme bill protecting doctors just passed the Vermont Senate, after previously passing the House. Once it is signed into law by the Governor, the medical community will have the ability to choose to follow either of the recognized guidelines (such as ILADS guidelines), without the threat of disciplinary action by the medical boards.
Lyme disease is highly endemic in Vermont. A recent study by the Vermont Dept of Health showed that 16% of the dogs in Vermont have Lyme disease, and many patients who are suffering and disabled have had to leave the state for treatment because of the adverse medico-political climate. This bill gives health care providers the ability to follow their best clinical judgment without fear of reprisal. Vermont joins other states such as Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and California in passing legislation protecting physicians and supporting ILADS guidelines.

This legislation is an excellent step forward, but it is not enough. If we want to stop the suffering of people with Lyme disease, and simultaneously lower our health care costs, we must stop being in denial. The scientific literature clearly shows that Lyme and co-infection testing is inadequate and that borrelia and some co-infections persist, making people ill. We want to be smart and compassionate when dealing with an epidemic in our midst that is harming the American people, and significantly increasing health care costs and disability. The Zhang study which was published in 2006 showed that it cost over $20,000 per person, per year to treat chronic Lyme (adjusted for inflation), while early diagnosis and treatment cost $1658 per patient for Lyme disease, if caught in the early stages. Lyme is a multisystemic illness, and if we were to properly educate patients about prevention, as well as the disease and its clinical manifestations, we could lower disability and health care costs. One way to accomplish this is within our health care system is broader use of the questionnaire that I have developed to screen patients for Lyme and associated diseases. If a patient were to fill out the questionnaire while waiting to see their health care provider, it would inform them if they suffer from a multisystemic illness, leading to proper testing and the establishment of a differential diagnosis.

Vermont knew they had to take action, because the good people of Vermont were becoming disabled, and had to leave their state to get care. You can try and fix the health care system by making care “affordable”, but the Vermont politicians also had to fix “unhealthy” health care policies that were hurting people and driving up health care costs.

Supporters celebrate final vote on Lyme bill, Burlington Free Press