Help needed to contact Missouri Representatives

[Guest guest]

People from other states can write to support this legislation.

Dear Members of Missouri Tick Illness Coalition and States Across

the Country:

Kathy White, Secretary of the Lyme Assoc. of Kansas City and a member of

our Missouri Tick Illness

Coalition have drawn up a letter explaining the bill we are attempting

to have introduced in the Missouri

State Legislature. We need your help.

It matters not which protocol you are following. If you are seeing a

doctor for treatment

of tickborne diseases, there's a possibility your doctor could be called

before the medical board or

the State Board of Healing Arts. There are not many doctors who are

willing to treat patients

for that very reason. We are hoping to not only protect our Lyme

doctors, but get more doctors

to treat sick patients. If the fear of reprisal is removed, more doctors

will be willing to become educated

and treat tickborne diseases.

A hearing is scheduled for April 28 at the Missouri State Capitol. You

are welcome to come, but if you cannot,

there is a Witness document that we are asking you to complete and mail

to me. Several doctors will be

testifying and we plan to take the witness documents as evidence that

many support this bill.

I will be out of town beginning Sunday, April 18 through April 24. If

you have any questions, Kathy White will be

happy to answer them: kswhite@...

<mailto:kswhite@...>

*This is extremely important and your help is greatly appreciated.

*The contact to your representative can be done immediately and the form

(Committee-Witness) has to be received

by me in time for the hearing at the capitol on April 28.

Mail to: Laurice s, 7349 Rt. D, Jefferson City, MO 65109

You can also fill out the form on your computer and do a " save as " and

then attach it to an email to me.

laurice_stevens@...

/* Laurice s*/

Missouri Doctor Protection Bill H.B. 2051

House bill H.B. 2051, " Treatment of Masters' Disease, " was recently

introduced in the Missouri House of Representatives to protect

physicians who are treating Masters' disease, Lyme, STARI, and other

Lyme-like illnesses with long term-antibiotics. The name for the most

prevalent form of the disease in Missouri is Masters' disease. This bill

allows doctors to treat it with long-term antibiotics. Doctors in many

states have had licensing problems for treating these diseases with

long-term antibiotics, making some doctors afraid to treat them. This

bill will protect Missouri doctors. Other states have passed or are

considering similar bills.

On *Wednesday, April 28* at 12:00 noon (or upon adjournment of the

House), several doctors will testify before the House Health Care Policy

Committee in support of the bill. Patients are invited to attend

quietly, but only selected doctors will speak. Patients will be allowed

to fill out a Witness Appearance Form. The hearing will be in room 6 in

the basement of the Capitol building in Jefferson City. Take the steps

on the west side of the building and go to the elevator.

The Lyme Association of Greater Kansas City and the Missouri Tick

Illness Coalition request the following help, whether or not you live in

Missouri:

1. Please contact Rep. Dr. Wayne , head of the Health Care

Policy Committee. His contact information is on the next page with

information for the other committee members.

2. Contact one or more other members of the health committee, as listed

on the next page.

3. Also, fill out the Witness Appearance Form being sent with this

message and return it to Lymefight@... or Lyme Association of K.C.,

P.O. Box 25853, Overland Park, KS 66225. Write a short message in the

box at the bottom of the form. You may also attach a letter to it.

It will be given to Dr. and the Health Care Policy committee.

4. Missouri residents: Please contact your representative by phone,

email, or regular mail. Contact information is in your local phone

book, and on the Internet at: http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx .

Click on your representative's name to get the contact information. If

you don't know your representative's name, first go to:

http://www.senate.mo.gov/llookup/leg_lookup.aspx to look it up.

Everyone (in every state): Please tell the legislators:

* That there is a shortage of doctors who treat chronic Lyme and

Masters' disease.

* That doctors are being persecuted for treating these diseases,

making doctors reluctant to treat.

* If a lengthy course of antibiotics (more than 4 weeks) has helped

you or a loved one, please say so and tell how it has helped.

* If you were given a short course of antibiotics that didn't cure

you, please say so.

* If you have to travel more than one hour to see a doctor, please

say so and tell how long.

* If you travel to Missouri from another state to see a doctor,

please say so.

* If you have ever left Missouri to see a doctor for a tick-borne

illness, please say so.

* If it took you several months or years and several doctors before

getting diagnosed and treated, please tell approximately how many.

* Please explain that long-term antibiotic treatment DOES help, and

that some physicians in Missouri are afraid to treat long-term or

are unaware of the problem.

* Please be brief.

There is no need to contact senators at this time.

Thank-You!