Greetings from Jenna, According to The Boston Globe March 27, 2016 EDITORIAL “Lyme bill a prescription for trouble”… “Lawmakers may have good intentions, but they don’t possess the expertise to decide whether it’s beneficial, cost-efficient, or safe, to keep using strong medicines to treat a condition the medical establishment doubts is real.” [Ref 1] It is unfortunate the editorial’s author(s) did not appear to fully review the Lyme bill before making their bold statement. If they done due diligence, they would have understood that the bill’s decision-making power for Lyme treatment lies in the hands of those who are responsible for care, namely the medical practitioners who treat Lyme patients. Furthermore, the bill does not dictate the duration of treatment, it expands Lyme treatment options and ensures that all options are covered by health insurance. Treatment options for medical conditions are routine in modern medicine practices. This bill also supports patient-centered care. The Health and Medical Division (HMD – formerly the Institute of Medicine) defines patient-centered care as: "Providing care that is respectful of and responsive to individual patient preferences, needs, and values, and ensuring that patient values guide all clinical decisions." Patient-centered care supports active involvement of patients and their families in decision-making about individual options for treatment and in the design of new care models. This is a common goal in most medical communities across the nation. The editorial’s author(s) did appear to understand that the Lyme bill expands insurance coverage. Without the passing of Bill H.901 “An Act relative to Lyme disease treatment coverage” the majority of Massachusetts’ Lyme patients will be unable to access treatment options unless they pay for them out of pocket. This would put care options beyond the reach of many families and individuals. Furthermore, the continuation of such financial obstacles would appear to be discriminatory in nature. The Globe's editorial closes by stating that the ‘answer should come out of the medical lab, not a legislature.’ Perhaps the editorial’s author(s) is unaware of how their state legislature works? Are they aware that there is a long standing Joint Committee on Public Health that routinely makes ‘answers to its constituents’? Its mandate is “it shall be the duty of the committee on Public Health to consider all matters concerning the public health of the Commonwealth and such other matters as may be referred” As of today, there are five public health bills ‘in committee’ and are seven public health bills ‘out of committee.’ A quick review of the Boston Globe’s history could help to explain the scientific and medical confusions expressed by editorial. Between 1966 and today, or 50 years, the Boston Globe has won 23 Pulitzer prizes. This sounds very impressive unless you know how many Pulitzer prizes have been awarded in the category of journalism. In 1966, there were eight journalism categories and eight awards. By 2014, there were 14 journalism categories and three awards per categories or 42 Journalism Pulitzer prizes awarded in 2014. The journalism categories include Public Service, Breaking News Reporting, Investigative Reporting, Explanatory Reporting, Local Reporting, National Reporting, International Reporting, Feature Writing, Commentary, Criticism, Editorial Writing, Editorial Cartooning, Breaking News Photography, and Feature Photography. This means out of many hundreds of possible Pulitzers for journalism, the Boston Globe has won 23. Out of these 23 Pulitzers, they have one sole award linked to science and medicine over a 50 year timeframe. That would be one in a 50 year timeframe. I believe the Editorial’s authors may have good intentions, but they don’t appear to possess the expertise to provide the healthy or Lyme-stricken citizens of Massachusetts their opinion on Bill H.901 “An Act relative to Lyme disease treatment coverage.” Thanks - Jenna [Ref 1] https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2016/03/27/elyme/ krQE58413hT6L8Mz0IwYMI/story.html