NY VOICES OF LYME
Governor Cuomo, SIGN THE BILL!!
Thank you from NY Voices of Lyme – a grassroots effort by NY Lyme disease patients & advocates to make bill S7854 law.
UPDATE
We did it! On December 17, 2014, Governor Cuomo signed bill S7854, subject to a chapter amendment which will be handled in the new legislative session in January. While we don't know what the amendment is, we have been advised that it is favorable and strengthens the legislation.
Thanks to everyone who worked to make this happen!
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QUICK LINKS
www.facebook.com/NYVoicesOfLyme
Email Gov. Cuomo
S7854 bill text
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Is this the same bill we’ve been calling “Lyme Protection Bill”?
A. YES. This is the bill that many groups and individuals worked so hard to get passed in June 2014.
The bill protects all NY patients’ rights to choose scientifically based, cutting-edge treatments by protecting doctors from unfounded harassment. Bill S7854/A7558B prohibits the investigation of any claim of medical professional misconduct based solely on treatment "that is not universally accepted by the medical profession”, “including but not limited to, varying modalities used in the treatment of Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases.”
Q. Where can I read the bill?
A. The short link is www.tiny.cc/bill7854
The full link is http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/bill/S7854-2013
Be sure to check out the “Justification” section which discusses why the bill is necessary, and mentions Lyme.
Q. Is the bill number S7854 or A7558B?
A. Just call it the Lyme Bill. (The NY Senate and the Assembly each had their own bill number for the exact same bill.) It’s also referred to as S7854/A7558B. Senate version is S7854 and Assembly version is A7558B. All of these are fine.
Q. Should people from outside NY State send this email to Gov. Cuomo?
A. No – just NY State residents. BUT, non-New Yorkers can help by contacting everyone they know in NY state and asking them to email Gov. Cuomo and to pass the flyer on to other New Yorkers.
Q. Since the bill passed unanimously, isn’t it pretty much a sure thing that the Gov. will sign it?
A. NO! Lobbyists for some powerful groups are urging him NOT to sign the bill (the same people who believe every case of Lyme is curable with 2 to 4 weeks of antibiotics.) We have to be much louder than them to ensure our right to treatment.
In 2004, another bill to protect our doctors was passed unanimously by the NYS legislature, but Governor Pataki vetoed it.
Q. I see the goal is “10 days, 10,000 emails” – do we stop after 10 days?
A. No – 10 days is just a goal. Keep going! We need to keep working on getting emails sent until Gov. Cuomo signs the bill.
Q. Where can we see how many emails have been sent to Gov. Cuomo so far?
A. See the "thermometer” graphic on the Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/NYVoicesOfLyme
Q. How will we know if/when he signs it?
A. Check Facebook www.facebook.com/NYVoicesOfLyme. Or, subscribe to the NYLyme2 “announcements only” Yahoo group and you will get an email about it and bonus, you’ll get future Lyme “action alerts” as well.
To subscribe, send an email to nylyme2-subscribe (at) yahoogroups.com.
You can also check the websites of the advocacy groups listed at the end of these FAQs, or join one of their mailing lists.
Q. I thought that if the Gov. didn’t sign it within 30 days, the bill dies. Hasn’t it been 30 days already?
A. The bill dies if it isn’t signed 30 days after reaching the Governor’s desk. There are hundreds of bills waiting and they are sent to him gradually. As of Oct. 15, 2014 he hasn’t received the bill yet.
Q. What is Voter Voice?
A. Voter Voice is a website that allows grassroots advocacy organizations to easily create email campaigns to government officials. www.cuomo123.com goes to the Lyme bill campaign page on the Voter Voice site. The full URL is https://www.votervoice.net/NYSCOALITION/Campaigns/36501/Respond
Q. Who is running this campaign?
A. Many state, local and national Lyme patient advocacy organizations have worked hard to get S7854/A7558B passed and are working on getting it signed into law. Some of them are listed below.
A group of patient/advocates from some of these organizations have gotten together as “NY Voices of Lyme” for the purpose of organizing this final push to get the bill signed. We made the new flyer and wrote these How To’s and FAQs. NYC Lyme Support Group offered their website to host the flyer and other documents.
The organizations that have been working on getting this bill passed and signed are:
New York State Coalition on Lyme and Tick-borne Diseases
Members, in alphabetical order:
Empire State Lyme Disease Association www.empirestatelymediseaseassociation.org
Hudson Valley Lyme Disease Association
www.lymediseaseassociation.org/index.php/about-us/lda-associated-organizations-/hudson-valley-ldab
Lyme Action Network
www.lymeactionnetwork.org
Lyme Alliance of the Berkshires
www.berkshirelyme.blogspot.com
New York City Lyme Disease Support Group
Tick Borne Disease Alliance
National organizations supporting Bill S7854/A7558B:
Lyme Disease Association, Inc.
www.lymediseaseassociation.org
LymeDisease.org (formerly known as CALDA)
Q. How can I find out about future Lyme disease advocacy actions like this?
A. Get connected to the Lyme advocacy community! Join the mailing list of any of these organizations:
Organizations (in alphabetical order)
Empire State Lyme Disease Association www.empirestatelymediseaseassociation.org/
Hudson Valley Lyme Disease Association
www.lymediseaseassociation.org/index.php/about-us/lda-associated-organizations-/hudson-valley-ldab
Lyme Action Network
www.lymeactionnetwork.org
Lyme Alliance of the Berkshires
www.berkshirelyme.blogspot.com
Tick Borne Disease Alliance
Lyme Disease Association, Inc.
www.lymediseaseassociation.org
LymeDisease.org (formerly known as CALDA)
Yahoo groups:
NewYorkLyme -- New York Lyme online support group (chat group and advocacy)
To subscribe, visit group page on Yahoo or send email to:
newyorklyme-subscribe (at) yahoogroups.com
NYLyme2 -- Has advocacy announcements only, no chat. Less email.
To subscribe, visit group page on Yahoo or send email to:
nylyme2-subscribe (at) yahoogroups.com