I have been following the news about the hardships suffered by those with chronic Lyme disease when the insurance companies deny payment for their needed medicine. As if their physical suffering was not enough, these patients have the burden of paying out-of- pocket for the special antibiotics they need to get healthy. This is because some insurance companies won’t recognize that chronic Lyme disease is a disease.
I have seen a friend suffer from reoccurring bouts of Lyme disease and have no doubt that chronic Lyme disease is real. If a patient feels sick, they should be treated. The insurance companies will do all they can to deny care and medicine to patients. This is how they make their profits and avoid a medical loss. For those with chronic Lyme, their medical decisions are not made by their physicians, but rather by the non-medical employees at their insurance companies.
I wish to point out that with a non-profit system of single-payer health care, such as New Improved Medicare for All, people who are sick could simply be treated with the medicines they need. They would no longer be at the mercy of the profit-making insurance companies. A single-payer system would also cover dental, vision, and hearing needs. Certainly only the insurance companies continue to deny that our teeth, ears, and eyes are part of our body. It’s time to have the health care we deserve and need and work for a health care system that is affordable and covers all our medical needs. It’s time to respect health care as a true human right.
Maria Termini
Jamaica Plain resident