NOTE: This Action Alert Has Expired

ACTION ALERT
June 13, 2001

Hi Folks,

Thanks very much for your patience. This is the action alert we were planning and promised yesterday when we sent out our post on the Horowitz settlement. We do think that the fact that the OPMC backed off enough to offer Dr. Horowitz a settlement rather than have him go through almost a year of hearings and then possibly revoke his license is a very good sign that we are having an impact. But that was just the beginning, and while they have backed up some, we really now need to INTENSIVELY push for our rights. We need to launch a massive full scale blitz to really get the job done.  

Those of us who have been organizing in New York State are now asking EVERY LYME DISEASE PATIENT IN THE COUNTRY to challenge the OPMC harssment of our chronic Lyme disease physicians and the temporary suspension of Dr. Horowitz's license.

THE ACTION:
The immediate action that is planned is a 2 day call-in and letter writing campaign to Governor Pataki for TODAY Wednesday, June 13th and TOMORROW Thursday, June 14th. PLEASE BOTH SEND A LETTER AND CALL THE GOVENOR. Again, please do this no matter what state you live in. Our approach is to ask Governor Pataki to: a) intervene immediately to stop OPMC actions against physicians who treat chronic Lyme b) rescind the three month suspension of Dr. Horowitz's license.

I. LETTER WRITING:
1) CONTENT: We have posted a sample letter below. Please add your own personal story in the bulleted 3rd paragraph where we have asked you to do so. You can either copy the posted sample and add your own story or write your own letter.

If you write your own, remember that we are asking the Governor for help---NOT ATTACKING HIM for the actions of the OPMC. It is important that this tone be maintained in order for us to be most effective! Previous letters had been intercepted before reaching the Governor, so this will be the first letter campaign to reach him.

2) SNAIL MAIL: The ideal way to get a letter to him is to snail mail it tomorrow by PRIORITY MAIL which will get there by 2 days.   This does not require a trip to the post office. Just put on $3.50 worth of stamps and write PRIORITY MAIL in big letters. If you can't do that , regular snail mail is fine. SNAIL MAIL ADDRESS IS:
Gov. George E. Pataki State Capitol Albany, NY 12224

3) E-MAIL.   E-mail is not as good as snail mail, but if you are unable to send your letter by regular mail, please e-mail to gov.pataki@chamber.state.ny.us

II) TELEPHONE CALLS:
1) It is really important to follow up with a telephone call within the next 2 days. We have enough Lyme patients in the country to keep the switchboard so busy that they will know we are a big movement that will not go away.

2) The gist of what we will be saying in these calls is that we are urging the Governor to intercede immediately to stop OPMC harassment of chronic Lyme disease doctors and to overturn the suspension of Dr. Horowitz.   The fact that we will only have a short time to give our message on the phone is the reason for also sending a letter. TELEPHONE NUMBER: 1-518-474-8390

Please get started on these calls and letters immediately tomorrow morning. This quick and intense response from the Lyme community across the country will have an impact. If not, we will keep coming back until we have fully won.

PLEASE DO NOT NEGLECT ONE FORM OF COMMUNICATION FOR THE OTHER. LETTERS AND CALLS FROM EACH OF US WILL BE VERY EFFECTIVE.

Thanks,
Voices of Lyme

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SAMPLE LETTER:

As a Lyme disease patient, I am writing to urge that you immediately intercede in the actions of the Office of Professional Medical Conduct, OPMC, against physicians who treat chronic Lyme disease. OPMC targeting of these physicians has caused a chilling effect in the medical community resulting in the inability of many Lyme disease patients to find appropriate medical care. With the recent suspension of the license of Dr. Richard Horowitz, Dutchess County, in a settlement arising out of OPMC charges against him, this crisis in health care will reach catastrophic proportions.

The implications of Dr. Horowitz's three-month license suspension are staggering when viewed from the perspective of case numbers and vector distribution. New York State has the highest reported case numbers in the country. Dutchess County has the highest number of reported cases per capita in New York State. It is the height of Lyme disease season and disease carrying ticks are prolific throughout the region. Dr. Horowitz is one of the few treating physicians for chronic Lyme, and now he will be unavailable to treat. There will be an immediately devastating, in some cases life threatening, effect on the health of thousands of Dr. Horowitz's patients.      

--------- PLEASE PUT YOUR OWN PERSONAL INFORMATION HERE:
Please state how sick you were and how much better since seeing either Horowitz or Dr. Burrascano (or other physician who treats chronic Lyme disease) If you are not a New York State resident and see a NYS Lyme physician, please mention that. However, do NOT mention any names of doctors other than Burrascano or Horowitz. Write what you fear will happen to you with your doctor being unavailable. Do not give specific details of treatment. Please be BRIEF,   one paragraph.

The OPMC hearings of both Dr. Richard Horowitz and Dr. Joseph Burrascano have sent out clear messages to other physicians: it is not safe to treat chronic Lyme disease. The investigations and subsequent hearings have been triggered by OPMC's bias toward one side in a scientific controversy, a bias further reflected by the fact that more than 20% of those NY State physicians who treated chronic Lyme disease in 1999, when the OPMC hearings began, have been brought to trial. At present, there remain only 11 physicians in New York State, including Dr. Horowitz and Dr. Burrascano, who will treat chronic Lyme disease. We, believe that the years of intense scrutiny of Dr. Horowitz's records prior to charges would not have occurred if he were not treating chronic Lyme disease, and the same applies to Dr. Burrascano who is still undergoing OPMC hearings which could lead to the loss of his license.

We desperately need Dr. Horowitz, Dr. Burrascano and every physician who treats chronic Lyme disease to be practicing every single day. License suspensions and time lost from practice for legal issues translate into disability and suffering for thousands of patients whose care is limited by the chilling effect of these actions.

Please help us. Please intercede in the actions of the OPMC. The lives of thousands of Lyme disease patients depend on your help at this moment.

SIGN YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS

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