An Act To Inform Persons of the Options for the Treatment of Lyme Disease
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 0597
Committee Amendment CA_A_H184 (House)
Amends: 22 MRSA §1646

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "/1,, to H.P. 416, L.D. 597, Bill, "An Act To 
Inform Persons of the Options for the Treatment of Lyme Disease" 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause· and before the 
summary and inserting the following: 
. 
'Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §1646 is enacted to read: 
§1646. Lyme disease testing information disclosnre 
1. Definition. For the purposes of this section, "health care provider" means a 
physician, hospital or person that is licensed or otherwise authorized in this State to 
provide health care services. 
2. Lyme disease testing information disclosure. Every health care provider that 
orders a laboratory test for the presence of Lyme disease shall inform the patient that a 
negative result for a Lyme disease test does not necessarily mean that Lyme disease is not 
present and that if symptoms continue, the patient should contact a health care provider 
and inquire about the appropriateness of retesting or additional treatment. 
Sec. 2. Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention; alternatives for 
treatment of Lyme disease. The Department of Health and Hmnan Services, Maine 
Center for Disease Control and Prevention shall include on the publicly accessible 
website established pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 22, section 1645, 
subsection 3 the following infonnation regarding Lyme disease diagnosis and treatment: 
1. Lyme disease may be difficult to diagnose and treat; 
2. Some patients seem not to respond to the usual antibiotics used for treating Lyme 
disease and seem to have post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome. 
There are some 
doctors who believe that longer doses of antibiotics may sometimes be helpful. Some 
patients believe that they have benefited from extended treatments of antibiotics; 
3. Antibiotics can be lifesaving medications but can have serious side effects, such as 
the development of drug-resistant organisms. A patient who contracts an infection from a 
drug-resistant organism may never fully recover; and 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT"/}" to H.P. 416, L.D. 597 
4. 
Information on treatment alternatives for treating Lyme disease is available 
through Internet sites of organizations such as MaineLyme, http://www.mainelyme.org/. 
and Lyme Disease Association, Inc., http://lymediseaseassociation.org/.' 
'" 
SU~y 
This amendment, which is the majority report of the committee, requires any health 
care provider that orders a laboratory test for the presence of Lyme disease to inform the 
patient that a negative test for Lyme disease does not necessarily mean that Lyme disease 
is not present and that if symptoms continue, the patient should contact a health care 
provider and inquire about the appropriateness of retesting or additional treatment. The 
amendment also requires the Department of Health and Human Services, Maine Center 
for Disease Control and Prevention to include information on Lyme disease diagnosis and 
treatment on itspublic1y accessible website that informs users about the difficulty of 
diagnosing and treating Lyme disease, that some doctors and patients believe longer 
doses of antibiotics may be helpful and beneficial, that antibiotic use can lead to the 
development of drug-resistant organisms and that information on treatment alternatives 
for Lyme disease is available through certain websites. 
FISCAL -'UTE REQL"lRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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Approved: 05/13/13 ;t;p-ac 
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LD597 
LR 1506(02) 
An Act To Inform Persons of the Options for the Treatment of Lyme Disease 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Fiscal Note ror Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment 'h' l H -Ig 0 
Committee: Health and Human Services 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor, cost increase - General Fund 
Additional costs to the Department of Health and Human Services are expected to be minor and can be absorbed 
within existing budgeted resources. 
LR1506(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1